NOVEL NEXT 2.58 - Tower
Rud didn't exactly have an aversion to the caves under the grove. But the last time they were here, he was almost in trouble. Unfortunately, the location of the dungeons didn't line up with the areas they had already visited. After recruiting the help of both Sarya and Major, the group set off on their journey. The first leg was boring, as expected. There was no vegetation on the first few levels of the caverns, meaning they had to hoof it.
At least the bats didn't mind them passing through this time.
"Are you certain we're heading in the right direction?" Major grumbled. He led the way through the tight passageway, his bulk almost clogging the tunnel.
Rud shrugged, looking at the thread of energy shot into the cave's wall. He was guessing which direction they should head in. But the tunnels went in all directions, snaking all over the place with a bunch of dead-ends.
"Yep. This is definitely the right way," Rud lied. "Just right up ahead."
Yet as the hours passed, the party doubted him. At least they found a few weird cave bushes along the way, giving them an easy out if they got truly lost. By the time the group lost faith in Rud's ability to lead them in the right direction, the passageway opened up. Lingering on the far side of the room was an archway, in the center of which was a shimmering portal.
"Wow, he wasn't lying," Taz said, chuckling in surprise.
"Of course I wasn't lying. You try navigating a strange cave, ya silly dwarf," Rud said. "There are a few more around here, though. Just a guess, but I think they're clustered around this network."
Rud wasn't sure if he could go into dungeons. He had never tried and had no desire to do so. Mint couldn't enter normal dungeons, and he doubted the other sacred beasts could. Of the members of the grove, he figured it was only himself and Taz that could go in. Yet neither had a class meant for combat, meaning this was a problem for the adventurers.
"Only problem is giving the adventurers access to the dungeons," Taz said, rubbing his beard. "We're not that deep underground, though…"
"What are you thinking?" Rud asked. "Tunneling straight up?"
Taz grumbled. "Depends on where we are. Under a lake, maybe?"
"Nope. Just the forest," Rud said. He could sense the trees above… Perhaps fifty feet? Maybe more, it was hard to say. "So, are we digging?"
Taz approached the wall, placing his hand on the surface and closing his eyes. It took a while, but he eventually shrugged. "Doesn't seem too hard," he said. "Most stone I deal with in the mines is hard. Something about stone that can produce metals makes it harder."
"Magic or some crap," Rud said.
"Yeah, magical nonsense. I can feel the surface from here. This should only take a few hours if we work together," Taz said.
"Actually… This might be my time to shine." Rud flexed. "I've been absorbing some dungeon souls, so I have a lot of Strength."
"So buff…" Sarya trailed off, her eyes sparkling as she watched Rud doing various poses to show off his muscles. Of course, there were no muscles to speak of.
"Yeah, right," Taz said. Still, he withdrew a pickaxe from his bag and tossed it over.
Rud caught it with surprising grace and wiggled his eyebrows at the dwarf. "Witness the power of my cheat staff."
Of course, Rud had to wait for Taz to direct him where to dig. Once he had a section of mostly flat wall planned out, the druid rolled his shoulders. He pulled the pickaxe back and swung it with all his weight. The metal tip struck against the wall, sending shards of stone flying everywhere. He followed up with another hit, removing just as much stone and barely feeling the strain of the act. High Strength and Vigor combined to make the action almost effortless.
"That staff is unfair," Taz grumbled, hoisting his own pickaxe and joining in the fun.
The dwarf was right. The stone didn't seem as hard to cut through as that in the mine. Chipping away, the pair made some stairs and just kept going. Truly, it wasn't as difficult as Rud had expected. Best of all, they didn't have to chip away for long. Piles of dirt came flooding down over the steps they had cut.
Rud whistled.
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"Come on, puppy!" he shouted. "Time to dig."
"You boys might be cool with your sharp metal stuff, but check this out," Sarya said, sauntering over to the pile of dirt with far too much swagger. She got to work right away, doing what she did best. Moving dirt.
Once enough of the dirt had been moved out of the way, it was Rud's turn. He reached out to distant trees, pulling their roots down to reinforce the walls. He created a tunnel that allowed more dirt to flow in. And of course, Sarya was there to remove that soil as it piled up in the cavern. Major got involved. Although he was not as good as the wolf, he helped move the piles out of the way so the others could work.
"Sunlight," Taz announced, tossing a handful of dirt down the expanding, angled passage. "We're almost there. One more push."
Rud angled another set of stairs as the last of the dirt fell through. He pushed through the soil, taking a deep breath as the dappled sunlight fell over him. Looking around, he had a decent sense for where they were. The tunnels underneath the grove were expansive, and they had arrived somewhere north of the Observatory. They were near enough that he could pull a line from the north-south road. That would make it easy to bring the adventurers to the underground dungeons.
Sarya emerged from the tunnel, shaking to paint everything around her in mud.
"How did you even get wet?" Rud asked, wiping a glob from his face.
"Slobber," Sarya said, her tongue lolling to the side. "Lots of slobber."
"Delightful," Rud said, grimacing.
"Mission accomplished, right?" Major asked, removing himself from the hole next.
Rud turned back, placing his hands on his hips as he observed the hole they had made. He was thinking more defensively lately, and this newest addition to the grove was no different. Like the labyrinth, he wanted to reinforce this point. But Major was right. Their mission was accomplished, even if it was a goofy mission, with little excitement.
"Everyone did a great job," Rud said. "Dinners on me tonight."
"But dinner is free every night," Major said.
"Well, thanks everyone for coming!" Rud said, clapping a few times. "We did some great work here today. Made a staircase in some rocks. Built some wooden stairs. What more could you ask for?"
After some chatter, Taz and Sarya headed out. Major stayed behind, helping Rud inspect the passageway to ensure it was stable. After some hardening and use of the Lacquer spell, both were satisfied with their work. Once he was certain the tunnel was safe, he got to work on the above-ground defenses. The druid didn't plan anything crazy. Just a wall with some brambles around it to keep folks who were overly curious out. And a giant sign detailing what was inside and how dangerous it would be for mortals to wander inside without cause.
Rud stepped back from his wall, tilting his head to one side. "Does this look crooked to you?"
Major joined him, going on his rear paws to get a higher view. "No, it looks level."
"Hmmmm…" Rud looked at it from a few more angles. He stumbled to the side as the ground rumbled beneath his feet. It was as though the floor shifted from side to side a few times, sending him tumbling to his butt. "Whoops!"
"Did it collapse?" Major asked, looking around in confusion.
Rud rushed into his structure, looking down the passage. There was no dirt or stones clogging the tunnel. "Looks good from here. What was that?"
The ground rumbled again. This time, Rud was smart enough to hit the ground before he fell. This time the rumbling was far more violet, lasting about a minute before it calmed down. The druid shot a concerned look at Major, who shrugged.
"Earthquake?" Rud asked.
Silence settled in after that, the bear tilting his head to the side.
"I've done it!" Ban said, excitement flooding into Rud's mind. It was almost enough to banish away his concern. "Finally tapped into the labyrinth's core… wait, what's that?"
"Rud, Major, get your butts to the labyrinth," Mint said. "Where is that elf!?"
Rud shared a look with Major, shifting into his squirrel form and jumping on the bear's head. "Onward, faithful steed!"
Major thundered forward, jumping into the nearest bush. When they arrived on the other side, the druid squinted. It was far darker than the labyrinth's clearing normally was. When the bear released a string of forest-themed curses, it drew his attention upward. Toward the shadow that stretched far into the sky.
"Are you seeing this!?" Mint shouted, gesturing frantically toward the sky.
"Yeah, I see it," Major said, smacking his lips. "But, uh… What's it doing here?"
"This ain't normal!" Mint shouted. "By all the great spirits of the world, I'm gonna climb that thing! Right into the clouds."
Dean padded from the nearest bush, coming to a slow stop as his eyes shot skyward. "Well, then…"
"I think I may have made a mistake," Ban said, speaking into the druid's mind. "A big mistake."
Rud could finally process what he saw. There were the barriers he had created to keep random people out. But there was another feature that wasn't there before. Sprouting from the ground was a circular structure made of white stone. The seams between individual stones were almost invisible. In a normal structure, this might've represented amazing craftsmanship, but the druid doubted this was man made. A stone archway stood, perhaps twenty feet tall, leading inside of the structure.
Above stretched the tower. Impossibly looming above to stretch even higher than the Sacred Tree, a tower had appeared directly above the labyrinth.
"That ain't right," Rud said, blinking a few times. He watched as Mint dashed into the entrance. "Should've seen that coming…"