NOVEL NEXT 2.5 - Hey Stinker
Taz put his weight into his pickaxe, swinging to strike the wall in the mine. It exploded with shards of stone, showering both him and Rud with bits of rock. The dwarf cackled, hitting it again and again. Stone fell in heaps, creating a layer of gravel on the ground. The mad dwarf continued, going crazy on the wall until he was out of breath.
"Spirit Iron rules!" Taz shouted, hoisting the pick above his head and releasing a war cry.
Rud found he couldn't infuse the pick itself with more of his magic. But the resulting item was already powerful enough. He didn't consider using this newfound power for weapons. That wouldn't fly in Gladesbale Grove. Arming the mortals was a bad idea. If they wanted to turn the ingots into weapons themselves, they could have at it. But he wouldn't be an arms dealer. Instead, his new Blacksmithing skill unlocked a lot of potential for them. While he could make most things they needed with his Construction Magic skill, there were some comforts he had to make from metal.
Mint had brought them kettles, wood-burning stoves, pans, pots, and so on. But Rud wanted to be self-sufficient, and was eager to make all the stuff they needed himself. A few levels in Blacksmithing and he was confident he could handle fine work. For now, he had to turn and face the reality of running a mine.
"I have an idea on how to reinforce the mine," Rud said. "And it might solve the flooding problem."
"I've solved most of that problem," Taz said with confidence. He wavered. "Kinda."
Rud marched through the mine without telling Taz where he was going. Near the entrance to the housing section of the mine, he remembered seeing something he needed. The druid ran his hands over a root. It wasn't one of Ban's, meaning it came from a tree above the mine. It had been strong enough to break through a layer of rock, breaching into the mine itself. Freecasting the Shape Plant spell, Rud guided it into the mine, convincing the tree to pull more material from the bulk of its body. He used that root to wrap around the walls of the mine, adding support where there was none.
"Living mine supports," Rud said, casting the Plant Growth spell on the roots. He could feel the tree getting larger above him, some thread of connection still spread between himself and the organism.
Rud guided the roots through the mine, creating timber supports in an instant. It was far faster than shaping the lumber, and he could feel the tree didn't mind. Once he led the roots down the stairs, and into the flooded sections of the mine below, it was even happier.
"It might not drain the water quickly, but it will drain them," Rud said, watching as the roots drank happily.
"How much root does that tree have, anyway?" Taz asked with a scoff. "Seems never-ending."
"I dunno," Rud said, pausing to think about it. "It'll keep making more root if the tree has enough mass. I guess."
"Magic druid stuff?" Taz asked, nodding and stroking his beard. "Yeah, makes sense."
Rud left Taz in the mine. The dwarf had plans to mess around with the Blacksmith's Workshop, but no longer needed the druid's help for the day. With chores out of the way, it was time to get to work on revamping the Gladesbale Grove experience. He passed through some bushes, arriving at his first camp site. The yard was already beautiful, with a central area and a firepit. The buildings creating a half-circle around the yard were woven from trees, formed to reflect the construction methods Basil used.
"What does this place need?" Rud asked himself. He wanted to give the traveling mortals more, but he didn't know where to start. The road and rest stops were the bare minimum for them, so at least he had that.
Instead of putting himself into the mind of an adventurer traveling from one place to another, he recalled long car trips back on Earth. The first thing required for a long car trip were snacks. Duh. Hitting the road without a bag of chips, bag of jerky, or another treat—sure to shorten one's lifespan by a few years—should have been a sin. The next thing to come to his mind was a fact he had observed before. Spirits in contract with the grove didn't need to use the bathroom.
"Where are the adventurers putting their poop?" Rud asked, scratching his chin. "Are they pooping in my forest?"
The question of how people in ye olde times took care of their waste plagued Rud's mind. If he had to guess, they used some cesspools or an otherwise disgusting method of getting rid of it. Perhaps that was a problem for another day…
Taking potty breaks was one thing for a short-range ride, but there was one thing Rud hated more than anything on a long-haul drive. If the adventurers were walking for weeks through the grove—depending on the speed of that adventurer based on their attributes—they would get stinky. He might not have a solution for their waste, but he could offer baths to anyone that needed them. What a luxury that would be. He couldn't think of something that would boost their morale more than that.
"You're invested in this, aren't you?" Ban asked.
"What do you think?" Rud asked, gesturing to the area around the main campground. There was plenty of space to make this happen, and it was right along the roadside. "And what are they doing with all the poop?"
"They just go in the forest. Like the other animals." Ban's voice carried an amused tone. "I think you've got a great idea. Mortals will be more likely to make donations if they enjoy their time here."
Rud nodded to himself, envisioning how these new buildings would look. He wanted to settle on a version of a bath open to the air. He always took his baths out in the open. The sensation of the hot water mixing with the cold air was always magical. The bathhouse could even sit next to his general store. Running that store would be too much of a time investment if not for the concept of the honor box. Since anyone willing to rob him had to deal with wolves—and soon a bear—that might eat them, he wasn't relying on their sense of respect to keep people honest.
"Any ideas on how you're going to expand yourself?" Rud asked.
"I'm still taking a break. But if you want to make portals, I need to specialize in energy generation and storage."
"Is that a path you're not interested in going down?"
"We've already taken the first step down the path. I'm looking into generating another building to generate power. Depending on the complexity of that building, it might force me into a slumber."
So, depending on how powerful a building was, Ban might go to sleep. But the way she could gain upgrades was like how Rud could upgrade his skills. She could make buildings with energy, and he could upgrade those buildings. With a gentle mental command, he summoned her sheet.
[Ban'Tanthein]
Rank 1 Level 1 Sacred Tree
Upgrade Energy: 0%
Reserve Energy: 70%
Energy Nodule Efficiency: 90%
Upgrade:
[Thicket Travel]
[Root Spears]
Expansions:
[Mining Workshop]
[Smelting Workshop]
[Blacksmithing Workshop]
[Energy Nodules]
[Observatory]
Ban was in a net negative of energy right now. Rud had upgraded her Energy Nodules building to have Energy Flowers, which gave her a constant supply of energy to deal with. He only needed to top her off with crystals occasionally. With all steps in the production chain involving ore and metal done, she could focus on something new.
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"What's the best way to keep energy flowing? Should I focus on upgrading your Energy Nodules to Rank 1?" Rud asked.
"A great question. I have several buildings I can make to generate energy. But the most powerful won't come until I've taken a different building and an upgrade."
"Which means you need to get to Level 5 in Rank 1… Got it."
"That's right."
"I have reserve crystals for days, so that won't be a problem. What's this upgrade you're angling for?"
"It links the other trees in the grove to me more directly. This has an upside and a downside. I'll be connected more closely to everything, which means I have to support more energy. But, if I create a different building at the same time, each of those trees can become a producer of energy. There's another building where you can kind of burn mana crystals, but it isn't as good."
"So, we're turning the entire grove into a solar farm. That works."
"A simple way of putting it, but yes. This upgrade would be useless if the grove wasn't healthy."
Rud nodded to himself. He got the message. "That means I have to make sure every tree is in perfect working order."
"That's right. When I take the upgrade, it will show me which trees are efficient and which aren't. Which means you'll need to prune the bad ones and plant good ones."
That was already one of Rud's responsibilities, so he didn't mind. It wasn't a bad idea at all. He didn't have the ability to tell which tree was a good tree and which wasn't. Even with his druidic powers, they were still just trees. Long bits of living wood and leaves. If Ban took something that could help them empower the grove, he was eager to see it through.
"Let's do it!" Rud shouted, thrusting his hands into the air. Ban giggled, amused with how eager he was.
"I'm going to create the secondary building first. The energy drain on me would be too great, otherwise. We're taking this path a few ranks early, so I'm learning as I go."
"Yeah, but we're the best grove around. Team Magic Tree Huggers can't be beat… How long are you going to be out?"
"This should only take a few days. The building I'll work on is more complex than anything before. You won't see the building, either. It should appear in my root system."
"I'll hold down the fort," Rud said, saluting the forest before him. "When you wake up, there's gonna be a bathhouse, a mall, an Arby's, and a gas station."
A gentle twinkle of recognition flooded through Rud's mind. Ban wasn't kidding when she said she was going to start it now. He felt her slip away, into her slumber. With the tree down for the count, he turned his attention back to his projects. Off the main path that ran east to west, just south of the half-circle of homes to the north, he considered the design of this new building. Lacquered wood could serve as the tub, since Rud wasn't foolish enough to try and heat the water there.
There might have been some natural force he could use to heat the tub. Rud was reminded of the floating lights in Basil's grove. He wanted those for his own grove, although he had found nothing like them in the area. He also had never spotted a flaming rose or any other such nonsense. That meant he needed to heat the water the old fashioned way. Fire in a big old tub. Perhaps this was a good time to put his Blacksmithing skill to the test…
"Building first," Rud said, pulling his cloak tightly around himself. He tapped the Twig of Ban'tanthein on the wood of the road. "No time like now!"
Getting to work, Rud started by imagining the building he wanted to create. Like anything in the grove created with Construction Magic, he would pull from nearby trees to create walls, floors, and in this case the tub. He imagined a wide building with multiple tubs inside, all cloistered behind walls for privacy. While he didn't think the people of this world had modesty, he wouldn't force coed baths on them.
Rud started by pulling material from four nearby oaks, whose boughs spread far and wide. He created the flooring first, weaving a path from the main road and lacquering it as he went. Four trees acted as the four corners of the new building. He let them keep their shape, adding to the druidic aesthetic of the area. Between those trees he built an oblong building, not nearly as straight as he would have liked but it helped blend the structure in with the surroundings.
It took the rest of the day to get the skeleton of the building up, but there were bigger things at hand. Whittling away the days was a matter of course when dealing with the grove. Ban had to rest while she made her new building, and there were other chores to attend to. With the tea watered, goats fed and watered, he made his way to the Observatory to both check in with Maria, and write his daily reports.
The magic that had built in the east—right near the cursed object—had gone entirely. More magic was building in the southeast, though. It was likely a sign of more dungeons. Rud scribbled his notes before clicking the radio on. He observed the skies, detecting a chance of rain. Adding that to the notes, he thumbed his radio.
"Rud for Maria," he said.
"Hey stinker."
"My tree is down for a few days," Rud said, ignoring the 'stinker' comment from Queen Stinker. "So, expect to be bothered by me a lot more."
Maria laughed over the radio. "I can't imagine talking to my sacred mushroom-tree-thing."
"Good point. We can strategize easily. I can't imagine lacking that line of communication."
The radio hissed, silence settling in for quite some time. Rud was questioning if he had said something he shouldn't have when Maria's voice returned.
"I actually got another custodian on the horn today."
"What? Really?"
"You'll be amused to learn it was Jim from Cliffs of Mog."
"Jim! I love Jim, he's awesome."
"Hilariously, I also talked with his wife for a while. Amazing how he managed to make a family after being yoinked from our old world."
"Ever think of getting hitched with a hairy, drunk dwarf?"
"I'd rather die."
Rud turned his eyes to the sky, then scanned the horizon to take in the strange energy swirling in the distance. He didn't understand the energy created by the dungeons yet, but the more he watched it the more he got a sense for it. It was like a fog that blew in from somewhere, settling in lowland areas and avoiding the grove as though it were a high- or low-pressure zone.
"I've been studying this magical dungeon energy for a while, and I'm wondering what is normal," Rud said, narrowing his focus to the northeast. He could barely see the island wreathed in snow. "And I've got this weird cold island."
"Good luck understanding magic. I haven't managed to do it in all my time here. I doubt you'll have any luck until you get your skills higher."
"We can agree on that. I have a feeling these things come in bands. Like rain pushing in from the sea, coming to drench us with monsters."
"Once you solve the problem let me know. I have a question."
"What?"
"This is a hypothetical scenario. You get a nickel for every step you take. But you're forbidden from working a regular job, accepting money from others, and so on."
"I don't have use for a nickel," Rud said, shaking his head.
"This is a scenario for if you were back on earth. Would you do it?"
"Well, I was very out of shape back on Earth. I'd die before I broke even compared to my job."
"Don't you think you'd get in shape as you went?"
Rud scratched his cheek, clicking his tongue. "How many steps per day would you need to take to survive?"
"You could make 500 bucks a day if you did 10000 steps."
"Is this condition permanent? What if you get hurt and can't walk?"
"Then you're screwed."
"You would need to dedicate your life to walking."
"I did the math. I can take about 5000 steps in an hour. Walking eight hours per day would earn me two grand per day. Seven-hundred-thousand a year and change. You'd only need to do it for a few years before you could retire."
"You have a convincing argument… Could I just walk in place?"
"Sure. A step is a step. But you'd get bored, I think."
"I'll take you up on your offer. Send me back to Earth and I'll walk from sea to sea."
Maria laughed over the radio. She loved these hypothetical scenarios. Perhaps that was just her being homesick. Each time she brought it up, it made Rud think about the things he left behind. He didn't wish he had the same longing for Earth as she did. His current life was much better.
"How are you handling your new form?"
"Huh?"
"When I first got here, the body they gave me was so small. I worked hard so I'm not a twig anymore… Thank god."
Rud looked down and inspected his physique. He had the build of a person who ate nuts and mushrooms for a living. He may have made some progress toward building muscle, but it was slow. Whatever his state, it was better than the body he left back on Earth.
"Actually, I'm looking a lot better."
"Good to hear. A diet of forest food and dirt does the body good."
Rud smiled to himself, listening to the entertaining conversation that always welled between him and Maria. He almost forgot to go and eat dinner, but eventually signed off to pitch his plan to Taz. In the morning, the two planned to work on a water heater.