NOVEL NEXT 3.16 - Water Slides
Rud ran his hands over the large bowl he had created to act as the main pool of his water park. The Lacquer spell tingled over his fingers, turning the rough surface to a smooth finish. Getting the general shape of the tree was easy enough, but there was a lot still to do. The fine details of tree-based projects were the true killers of the tree-making business. The druid pushed himself as hard as he could, focusing on that connection to nature Ban was so confident he had. He wasn't sure where this kind of project fell into the natural order, but he knew it bordered on the weird.
Taking a break from his work, Rud stepped back to observe all he had done. The frame for this feature was done, but there was much to do. It had three main slides. One came from the middle, and two others came from either side. They were designed to present different levels of speed. The one in the center was the most interesting, and would pass under an active waterfall. If everything worked as planned, of course.
The biggest problem would be providing enough water for this to work. Rud wasn't sure if his magical spring was infinite, but he was about to find out. After taking enough of a break, he turned to step away from the water slides… only to find Elm cocking her head to the side with a confused look on her face.
"What exactly are you doing?" she asked.
Rud could see the gears turning in her mind as she tried to figure out what the monstrosity of a tree was. "You need to wait to see it," Rud said with a wink. "Ban is working on integrating the small portal into the Grove, the adventurers are alive, and my dungeons are sorted. This means I have free time. Which means I'm working on something cool."
"Interesting," Elm said. "Do you mind if we talk and walk at the same time?"
"Of course not," Rud said, taking on a slow pace and heading for the magical spring. "What's on your mind?"
"Just wanted to ask questions about the local shift in energy," Elm said. "You know I'm working on the anomalous energies so anything would be helpful."
Rud shrugged as he led the way through the grove. The spring wasn't far from here, but he needed little time to explain what was going on. Instead of picking what she already knew and working from there, he simply explained the current situation. She nodded along, clicking her tongue when she spotted the magical spring.
"That's very interesting," Elm said, jogging over to the gushing spring. She dipped her hands inside, bringing it to her mouth to have a sip. "This is the same water in the bath, right?"
"That's right," Rud said. Now that he was standing here, he sensed the various roots sucking water from the spring. He'd need to upgrade the capacity of those roots if he wanted to fuel his water park. His first intention was to test the production capacity of the spring, so he reached out with his magical powers and failed to grasp the water. Air was easy, but water? It evaded him.
"What are you doing?" Elm asked with a giggle.
"Using my magical powers to pull some water out. Well, that's what I'm trying to do," Rud said. "But it won't budge."
"This isn't elemental water," Elm said, leaning over the pool and smiling at her reflection. She brushed hair from her face, pulling away from the surface to shake her head. "When you use your Affinity to control elements, those elements should be pure. You could manipulate a small amount of this water, but it is infused with too much druidic magic."
"I just wanted to test how quickly the pool filled," Rud said, frowning at the spring.
"That's easy," Elm said, letting out a steady breath. A line of magical energy drew through the air, creating a layered magical array that shimmered even in the light of the day. Magic flowed from her body, stinging the air with its potency. When the elf's eyes snapped open, they glowed a vibrant shade of blue. "Watch this."
The spring rumbled for only a moment. Elm thrust both her hands forward and the water exploded upward, shooting high into the sky like a geyser. A few moments later, the forest filled with the sound of water pattering down like raindrops. Rud felt the magic from the spring water flowing over his skin, relieving muscle pains he hadn't realized he had. But the effect was done. The pool was mostly empty.
"That's one way to do it," Rud said, pulling his hood up and laughing.
"Now we can observe how quickly it fills," Elm said.
"That was a spell, right?" Rud asked, watching as the pool filled itself. He should've expected it, but it filled quickly. Water rushed from the rocky bottom of the spring, flowing up to fill a quarter of the pool in mere moments.
"Correct. That was a water-alignment spell called Water Geyser. Since I put a lot of extra mana into it, the spell bypassed the magical nature of the springwater. I'm uncertain if Druids have access to spells like that."
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"None that I know of. But our spell system differs from yours," Rud said. His mind went back to the conversation he just had with Ban. "I'm realizing I don't truly understand how it works yet. But I'll get there… You've been a big inspiration for me."
Elm had been looking at Rud as he spoke, but quickly swiveled her head away. He could still see the red spreading across her long ears. "Thanks," she said. "I'm nothing compared to some mages on the mainland."
"Nonsense," Rud said. "I remember when you first showed up here with Oak and Barrow. You were so grumpy about everything. Now that you've got your own wings, you're flying!"
"Thanks for that," Elm said without turning back. "Helping a custodian is an honor. I miss my old party, but let's face it. Researching is far more rewarding for a spellcaster than adventure. Imagine all that danger on the road. But between my tower and the Grove, I have enough to write a few tomes."
"Ah, tomes. Who doesn't like a good tome?" Rud asked.
"Right!?"
The pool was filling at a steady rate. He could fill his giant pool easily, and that water would be recycled for a while, so he didn't have to worry about constantly sapping the pool. Since Elm wanted to chat it up today, Rud did his work on expanding the size of the connecting trees while talking with her. She had a lot of thoughts on the weird magical energy in the Grove, but still hadn't reached a conclusion. Perhaps if she talked her way through it enough times, she'd figure it out.
Today wasn't that day, though. She followed Rud through the Grove. He cut down and grew trees until he had a line of the beefed-up roots carrying a ton of water through the system. Elm watched as he ran massive roots through the center of his water park tree, allowing them to pump absurd amounts of water into the holding pool in the top. Once it had filled, it spilled over. The water rushed into the plunge pool below, creating a roaring waterfall.
"Interesting," Mint said, padding up alongside Rud and Elm. It was hard to hear her over the sound of the waterfall. "What is the purpose of this structure? To collect water energy?"
"No, it must be a method of adding water to the air," Dean said, appearing alongside Mint. He sniffed at the air. "Yes, the air is thick with it."
"You're both fools!" Sarya shouted, appearing and rushing over to one of the wide stairways on the side of the tree. She vanished as she ascended the steep stairs, appearing at the top of one slide. "Rud made us water slides!"
The group watched as the over-excited wolf slid down the least steep slide, howling with delight as she went. At the bottom, she splashed into the massive pool, doggy paddling to the side and jumping out. When Sarya shook, she doused everyone gathered. It only took a brief pause, but Dean and Mint rushed forward, each picking a different slide and sliding down it. Rud and Elm shared a brief exchange before they joined the Sacred Beasts.
Of course, the biggest slide was the best one. It was in the center of the massive tree. Rud picked that one first. When he passed under the waterfall, he felt the pressure from above crash down on him. Then there was a steep decline which sent him plunging into the pool. When he emerged, both Dean and Elm were paddling toward the edge. Not only was the slide super fun, the spring's water filled the druid with a rush of energy.
"This is awesome!" Dean shouted.
While it was just about the most fun thing to be introduced to the Grove ever, Rud had other concerns. The others played in the water while he programmed the roots of his massive tree. His idea was to recycle the water from the waterfall, saving as much water from the spring as possible. Although it seemed infinite, he wasn't interested in risking it. Not as though it was that hard to convince the tree to reuse the water. Sucking up that delicious springwater made it happy.
Elm jogged over, soaked in water, as Rud finished with the roots. With a wide smile hanging on her face she nudged him. "I'd expect to be tired from playing for so long," she said, wiping water from her face. "The restorative effects of the spring are astounding."
"Indeed. This way, I don't have to offer only baths," Rud said. "Anyone can jump in the pool and swim around."
"So long as they don't drown," Elm said.
"Yeah, that sounds like a liability," Rud said, scratching his chin. "I'll put up a sign. That should protect us from legal action."
Rud watched as the Sacred Beasts took a few more turns on the slides. Even with things getting weird within the Grove, the druid needed this mood to exist. If he had the means to make stuff like this, he wouldn't pass up the chance. Even if the spring's restorative effects kept them going for a while, there was only so much it could do. Mint's level head eventually prevailed, reminding her they were responsible for keeping the orcs back and keeping the tower and labyrinth under control.
"We have neglected our responsibilities for too long," Mint said, a look of panic flashing across her face. "Only major has held true to the virtues of the Grove."
"Major is napping under a tree," Sarya corrected.
Mint narrowed her eyes, growling. "Traitor." She shifted into her human form, producing a bucket from nowhere. After scooping spring water, a wicked smile spread across her face. "Come, my wolves. Let us show this cretin what it means to be a member of Gladesbale Grove."
"Yay!" Sarya shouted, hopping along behind her.
Dean rolled his eyes.
"Well, that was fun," Elm said, watching as the group departed. "I hope we didn't waste too much of their time."
Rud shook his head. "No. Mint is good at managing her time. If she stayed around, she had time to spare."
"I wouldn't want to be responsible for a Guardian's duties falling by the wayside."
"Nah, you're good. Wanna join me at the longhouse for some grub?" Rud asked.
"And some tea. Never forget the tea."
"I wouldn't even dream of it."