NOVEL NEXT 2.54 - Unhand Me
Taz cooked a meal with cheese. The cheese was made in Gladesbale Grove and aged for about five hours. It was gooey, but the dwarf made it work. He had cooked venison steaks and then heated the cheese in a pot before pouring it over the meat. Rud rubbed his hands together as he looked over his plate, piled high with deer meat and cheese. There wasn't a vegetable in sight.
Around the table sat Taz, Rud, and Elm. Near the table rested the sacred beasts of the grove. Most had already torn into their meals, abandoning any ideas of table manners in favor of scarfing the food down. They were animals, after all.
"You're in trouble now," Elm said, skewering a length of venison and chomping down on it. She closed her eyes and sighed. "As if the meat alone wasn't good enough, now you guys have cheese. Grow a decent vegetable garden, and you'll have yourself a resort grove."
"And I haven't even tried to enchant the meals," Rud said, smiling to himself. Technically, as long as it was cooked within the grove, it was a crafted item, so he could enchant it.
"Wait, you can use that spell on our meals?" Taz asked, looking down at his untouched plate and then back at the druid. He grabbed his plate and thrust it forward. "Do it, druid boy."
Rud shook his head as he held his hand over the plate. He cast his Imbue Crafted Item spell and watched as the magic shimmered over it. The power of both Ban and Mint flowed over the meal, infusing it with that complex intermingling of magics. Everyone leaned in, inspecting the item. The druid was no exception.
[Dwarf's Delight]
Uncommon
Description:
Venison steaks lightly salted and covered in enough cheese to give your local healer a panic attack. This meal isn't for the faint of heart. Ensure you're sitting down for this one. It's a doozy.
Effect:
Consuming this item nourishes you far more than it should.
Aspect Effect (Mint and Ban'Tanthein):
If this meal (or any with a similar effect) is eaten for two days in a row, you gain this effect. All skill gains increased by 25%.
Taz's eyes went wide as he read the description over and over. "You're telling me we could've been doing this the whole time… but you were too lazy to cast a simple spell!?"
"Do mine next," Elm said, holding out her plate.
"I would like another portion," Mint said. "Two portions, actually."
"I don't think the effect stacks," Rud said.
Sarya bounced around with excitement, putting her butt in the air before bowling into Dean. "Why are we so excited!?" she shouted.
"Unhand me," Dean grumbled.
Of course, Rud was happy to enchant everyone's plate. Including his own. A 25% increase to skill gain was massive, even if they had to eat an enchanted meal two days in a row. This would make getting levels and ranks a lot easier, especially if the effect grew with the power of his skill. The druid now had a very good reason to get Crafting Magic to Rank 1. He knew there would be some juicy abilities to pick from at that rank. Likely something tied to the grove.
Rud finally dug into his food, finding that it exceeded his expectations. And his expectations were high. Although the plate was just a pile of hot cheese and meat, it was absolutely divine. By the time he got half-way through it, he felt his stomach bulging. But he pushed on for the sake of the buffs. When he was done, the druid sat back and felt his eyelids growing heavy. He dabbed his forehead with a length of cloth.
"I got the meat sweats," Rud said, looking over to the beasts of the grove. They were all panting. Except Nulsa, who was perched on the back of a chair. He hadn't eaten any of the enchanted food.
"As do I," Elm said with a heavy sigh. She sat there for quite a few silent moments before her eyes widened. "I just remembered why I came here tonight, instead of turning in right away."
"Not the time for business," Rud groaned.
"It is too important to ignore," Elm said, pushing herself up straight in her chair. She groaned, leaning forward before catching herself against the table. "If I can stay awake to deliver the news, that is."
"Out with it before we either pass out or puke," Rud said.
"I have detected magical energy coming from the labyrinth."
"As have I," Rud said. "But that energy has been there since the structure appeared."
"But there's more than before," Elm said. "And the increase is coming from the area just above the structure. It should be coming from within."
"Really? I just thought that's how it worked."
Elm released a heavy sigh before belching. "I thank the gods and spirits you built outhouses… Anyway, this level of growth is unlike anything I've seen before. I simply don't know what it means."
"Wait, you're the expert and you don't know what's going on?" Rud asked, folding his arms. The pressure that created against his stomach was very uncomfortable, so he unfolded them and placed his palms on the table. That was marginally better.
"Don't blame me!" Elm said. "I'm only the 'expert' because the next-nearest person who knows anything about this is on the mainland. I'm doing my best."
"We appreciate all you do for us," Taz said. He wasn't as affected by the meal. "Rud understands you're trying everything you can, but he expects too much for us. Seriously, send help."
That got a light chuckle from the elf.
"In my defense, we got some weird crap going on with the labyrinth," Rud said. "I'm frightened. Someone hold me."
Sarya jumped into Rud's lap. The weight of the large wolf was too much for the chair and it collapsed under their weight. The pair fell to the ground with a clatter, splintered wood shooting in every direction.
"Ow," Rud grumbled. "Anyway, we love you Elm."
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"As friends, of course," Taz added, a little too quickly.
Elm went into a rant about magical energy. It was far too complicated for Rud to understand, but he listened. She said something about magic gathering in a singular spot and condensing to create structures. He understood that much, but when she got into the details he got lost. Fortunately, Elm was used to dealing with people from non-magical backgrounds.
"Which means the magical energy in the area is out of control," Elm said. "Does the Sacred Tree know anything about that?"
"I know nothing," Ban said, speaking into Rud's mind. If she spoke aloud, Elm would have her brain melted. "But once I get the labyrinth's energy under control, this should stop."
Rud relayed the message, to which Elm nodded.
"That's good. If the Sacred Tree can absorb that energy and process it, she could grow in power while preventing more random system structures from popping up."
"Is this related to those dungeons I found in the south?" Rud asked.
"Depends on how many."
"At least ten. Likely a lot more than that," Rud said.
"Then, yes. That's not a normal number of dungeons to just spring up. I have many concerns about this newest development," Elm said.
"Are you gonna run off to consult a member of your order?" Rud asked. "Maybe one that lives in a tower? White hair and all that."
"Why is it that most older wizards have long white hair?" Elm asked, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the ceiling. "Almost as though they all gather and decide what kind of flowing robes and equally flowing hair they'll have."
"Wizard uniform," Taz said, nodding. "Like organized military garb. Helps them know friend from foe."
"I really don't think that's the case…" Rud trailed off. For all he knew, that could be the exact reason why.
"But, no. I'll stay here and study. The way the magic is developing is happening too fast. I'd miss something if I left."
Conversation faded out after that. Rud got more tired by the moment, and only five minutes later he couldn't stand it. As he left the longhouse, he entered the chilled breeze of the night. The sky was alight with both the glittering stars and the fragments of the moons. He wasn't sure how the night had gotten away from him, but his mushroom house certainly was inviting. Once he got the furnace going, he crawled into bed and passed out.
###
"We're experiencing something similar… I think," Jim said.
Rud sat in the Observatory, his radio hissing at him as he sipped his tea. His morning notes had shown more of the same. Power was expanding within the grove… Every grove, if these early reports were anything to go by. And not every grove was prepared to confront the reality of war within their borders.
"We need to get the other groves on the horn," Rud said. "Let's get the word out, okay?"
"Yeah. Agreed," Jim said. "How are those portals coming along?"
Rud bit the inside of his cheek, trying to find the best way to phrase it. "My tree isn't being forthcoming with that. Which usually means she's close to a breakthrough. She's going to harness the power of the labyrinth, then we'll have one-way portals to deliver items."
"Yet items won't solve the energy problem."
Rud rolled the information over in his head. There had to be another way to suck this energy up or otherwise redirect it. Even if Gladesbale Grove could deliver equipment for adventurers afar, that might be good enough to keep everything under control.
"That's up to each grove," Rud said. "Maybe this will be a case-by-case basis. Too bad Maria couldn't be here."
"Those dwarven adventurers are working well for her. But they need a lot of direction. Basil has gathered enough energy to make a two-way portal once… Just as an emergency measure."
That was the problem with the portals the groves currently had. None could sustain portals for any amount of time. Instead, it was a brief window where one person could travel for a few seconds. And what about Bent? That guy could travel where he wanted when he wanted. Yet Rud got the impression he was more like a thing out of nightmares rather than a friendly little forest critter. Perhaps he just didn't understand enough how the Stag Spirit worked.
"Basil was always my favorite," Rud said. "He'd be proud of what I've built here!"
"I'm sure he would," Jim said.
There were a few more things for them to discuss, but the meeting ended in time for Rud to make his morning report. More dungeons and more energy. Yet he forecasted clear skies for the day and a chilled wind blowing from the north. After taking the weather, he summoned Dean to the tower and handed off his report.
"I have a few more dungeons to eat," Rud said, patting Dean on the head. "Thanks for running this over."
"No problem," Dean said, turning and swishing his tail. "They give me snacks when I come through."
"Do they give you snacks, or do you steal them?"
Dean gave him a knowing look before dashing off to the nearest bush. Rud could only shake his head. The druid followed suit, heading through the nearest bush and arriving at Ban's clearing. He pressed his back against the Sacred Tree and lowered himself to the ground, looking up at the flowers scattered through her branches.
"You there, Ban?"
"I'm here," she said, her soothing voice rolling through the clearing like a comforting breeze. It brought a sensation that rushed through his chest—like always—bringing deep comfort to his mind.
"Checklist time." Rud clapped his hands together. "So starts our meeting. Can you take minutes?"
"I've got a notepad ready," Ban said, giggling.
"The roads and rest stops throughout the grove need some improvements. Structurally, they're fine. But as my power expands, so does my ability to create a better form for them."
"Noted. The road project shall continue, this time with more roadness."
"We might want to check out using my Imbue Crafted Item spell on the roads… Or another spell provided by Basil. Wink wink."
"Wink wink."
"Next is the underground city. Any progress on that front?"
"Almost none. I've extended my influence into the area completely, but I'm waiting for the latent magic to dissipate."
"As expected," Rud said, miming as though he were checking an item off a list. "The ice island is mostly taken care of, which gives way to another problem. The dungeons. I've got that one under control for now, so long as my temporary roads work for the adventurers coming to help me out."
"Dungeons sorted. And our little druid gets more powerful with each soul consumed."
"We're working through the diseased tree problem, and we still have a ton of cursed objects to take care of, but that's a work in progress." Rud paused for a moment, going through his mental checklist. "Tea and cheese production is going well, and I think we're going to get some interesting types of cheese soon. No new blends of tea, though."
"I'm just waiting for the last item. The one I know you're most excited about."
Rud smiled to himself. He had been saving this last item, because both he and Ban knew what it meant. "The labyrinth," he said, nodding a few times. "Have you tamed the cursed thing?"
"I'm almost there. My root system isn't intended to do this, but I'm almost ready to tap into the core itself. When that happens, we'll unlock a lot of options. I may even ascend to Rank 2 instantly."
That was something to think about. To jump an entire rank thanks to the amount of energy was frightening. Could Ban handle all that energy at once, or would she burst into flames? Rud could only guess, but he trusted the tree's assessment of the situation. This would unlock a lot of expansions and new buildings for her to support. Between that and the diseased trees getting taken care of, she would have a massive rush of energy.
"So we can talk about portals soon, right?" Rud asked.
"Your idea to send items to the other groves is an excellent one," Ban said. "The other Sacred Trees have been talking. Well, their form of communication is more like ideas, but they're worried about the system structures in their groves. A few aren't doing so well. They're already under attack."
"Good thing we're close to making it happen, then," Rud said. "Between the two of us, I know we're close. We got this!"
"We do!" Ban shouted back. "Team Druid-Tree!"
"Huzzah!"
After laughing about their idiocy for quite a while, Rud felt confident about moving along. He felt the tree's attention drifting away from the grove's center and back to the magical underground complex.
"Right. Back to work with me."