NOVEL NEXT 3.17 - A Flooding Concern
The amount of energy required for the sacred tree to do what she was currently doing was immense. Rud understood that as he sat making his report at the observatory in the morning. His mind had been on the problem of involving the other custodians in the daily meetings when he thought about how hard the tree had been working. Their various efforts to bolster her power weren't for nothing. Although she now had to take breaks, she rarely took long naps.
"I'd already have other custodians in this call if I could just contact them," Jim said. "Basil is being more guarded with the tree's power by the day."
"Concerning, but unsurprising," Maria said.
"I'm so close to getting my item portal working, I can taste it," Rud said. "We might have it working today, but that seems optimistic."
"When you get it working, send me some cheese," Maria said. "As a test, of course."
"Oh, but of course."
To Rud's surprise, there was little else to talk about during the morning report. The other groves were doing well to keep both their dungeons and other system structures in check. The only thing that lingered in his mind was the state of the groves that hadn't been brought into the group's daily calls.. He feared the worst but could only do his best to ensure their safety. Although he wouldn't voice it aloud, he knew Bent could fix the problem easily enough. The same way a tornado could solve certain problems, so could Bent. It was just a matter of getting it to move in the right direction.
Just as Rud had finished the call and was planning to head to the sacred tree to convince her to incorporate the portal as a building, Dean emerged from the bushes at the base of the tower. "We have discovered another cursed object," he said, growling. "I was frolicking with Daffodil when we came upon a site."
"Frolicking?" Rud asked, scratching his chin and grimacing to hide his smile. "I mean, of course. Where is it?"
"Hop on and I'll show you," Dean said, leaning forward slightly. Rud shifted into his squirrel form and jumped on the wolf's back. Without delay, they shot off through the forest.
Thanks to the thicket travel upgrade, it took them only a moment to arrive at the area. They burst through a bush, emerging onto a relatively flat plain and clearing in the forest. There was a deep lake that emitted bubbles from its center. The druid paused for a moment, realizing he didn't remember such a lake within the grove.
"Is that new?" Rud asked.
"Yes. And that is the problem."
Rud heard the grunting call of Daffodil nearby, and toggled his Clear Communication upgrade.
"Well, I've never seen something like this," she snorted, pawing at the ground near the water. "Look, there are trees submerged underneath."
"Indeed, my flower," Dean said, padding over to lap some water. "I can taste the magic within."
"Wait, can you understand her?" Rud asked, pointing between Dean and Daffodil.
"I'm learning horse-deer," he said.
"And I'm working on learning wolf-tongue."
"Well, that's adorable," Rud said, coming to the water's edge and kneeling. At first, he thought it was the same type of magical water that came from the spring, but as he focused his magical senses, he looked to the bottom and felt the cursed object below. Some cursed objects were like this. They produced relatively mundane effects, but this could be a serious problem. The artifact was currently at the bottom of a shallow gorge. It had filled it to the top, and that water was now overflowing, heading southward to follow the tilt of the land.
"I understand water is essential for the forest's growth, but I fear flooding won't be beneficial," Dean said, growling at the cursed object as if he were too intimidated.
"This is a massive problem," Rud said, gritting his teeth as he looked down at the object. "And we don't know what happens if we touch it. So that's not good. Dean, can you go fetch me a basket or something?"
"Right away." The direwolf vanished into the forest. Hopefully, he didn't pilfer some poor village for the basket.
"Now that we have a moment alone…" Daffodil trailed off. "I wanted to ask for your blessing."
"My what?" Rud asked.
"Your blessing. I wish to take Dean's paw."
Rud blinked, staring down at the pool of water as the gears of his mind ground to a halt. What were the logistics there? How would they… y'know… hold hands?
"I don't know… Uh…"
Ban giggled into Rud's mind. "They're forging a spiritual relationship, Rud. Daffodil wants to bond with Dean, which will help her become a Sacred Beast. They don't have hanky panky on the mind."
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"Really?" Rud asked, shooting his thoughts back to the tree. "Should I give her my blessing?"
"Yes. Look how anxious she is," Ban said. "Young love!"
Rud cleared his throat. "You have my blessing, fair deer-horse. Horse-deer. Whatever. You'll make Dean a very happy wolf."
Daffodil wasted no time prancing around the area, kicking her back feet out and doing some more deer grunts. That's when Dean emerged from a nearby bush with a wicker basket clasped between his teeth. He tilted his head to one side before padding over and dropping the basket at Rud's feet.
"Did he say yes?" Dean asked.
"Yes!" Daffodil shouted, still bucking around like a weirdo. That's when Dean joined her, and Rud had to shift into his otter form, grab the basket, and jump into the water before he got trampled by the overly-excited creatures.
The cursed object was a small piece of metal embedded in the mud of the gorge. Rud swam down, using his sleek otter body to make the journey. He was slowed by the basket between his teeth, but eventually scooped the cursed object up and swam it to the surface. Although it was only roughly the size of his fist when he was in his true form, it felt much heavier. The druid dragged it from the shoreline, shifting into his true form part way through to take better advantage of his size. That's when he saw the exact amount of water that was coming from the object.
"That's not good," Rud said, dragging the basket along. He feared how heavy it would be without his heightened strength. "You guys just frolick for a while, I'm gonna get this to my containment site."
The druid approached the nearest bush, pressing his face into the leaves but going nowhere. He stepped back, dropping the basket and placing his hands on his hips. "What's wrong with this bush?" he asked, looking incredulously at the small shrub. He pressed his face into it again, gaining nothing for his efforts. The entire time, the cursed object soaked his boots.
"Ah, that's not good," Ban said. "The conceptual weight of the object is too heavy for the Grove to handle."
"What? That's bad."
"I'm afraid you'll have to carry it."
Rud looked over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at the frolicking wolf. "Dean!" he shouted. "We have a mission."
Dean ran over, skidding to a halt and looking between Rud's face and then back at the basket, which currently oozed gallons of water every second. "Does your mission involve me getting extremely wet and running through the forest?"
Standing there with his pouring basket, Rud shrugged. "Maybe. What gives you that idea?"
"Hop on," Dean grumbled. "But you're drying me off afterward."
"You're the best," Rud said, jumping onto Dean. The duo took off into the forest, leaving Daffodil behind. Apparently she would find her way back to the grove's center. They left a trail of water behind them, but the druid's concern was only for poor Daffodil. He used his Transient Guest upgrade to add her to the list of accepted mortals, and although at first he didn't expect it to work, it did. She could now wander around without being subject to the negative effects of the Grove.
Rud wasn't confident that he could carry the cursed object in his raven form, forcing them to make the journey on foot. It was far longer than he had expected, but eventually, the duo reached the logging site. Unexpectedly, Mira and her team of loggers were working close to the cursed item site. They all made the sign of reverence before getting back to work, and the druid found the perfect tree to imprison the infinite water glitch.
The cat woman sauntered over as he was preparing a tree, a faint smile hanging on her face. "That might be the weirdest thing I've seen this week," she said.
"You should come hang out in the grove then. You'll see a lot of weird stuff like this," Rud said, finishing the general shape of the tree and preparing to cast his spell. He had the required acorns and water, along with his deep pool of mana.
"I think that's why I stay out here," Mira said.
Although she seemed to have only a passing interest in what was happening, Mira remained to watch the ritual. Rud formed the ritual circle and cast his spell. Water flowed from the gaps in the tree, trickling out to flow southward just as it had back in the grove. However, the druid watched in horror as his efforts proved futile. The object was technically sealed, and yet it still produced water.
"We're chalking that up as 'very bad'," Rud said, opening his magical senses. But he couldn't figure out where he had gone wrong. Sure, the spell he used was only Rank 0. But it had never failed to seal away the magic before. In his magical sight, he could see that the ritual circle had diminished the power…
"How has your ritual failed?" Dean asked, coming over to growl at the cursed object. "You'll flood the loggers if you keep this up."
"Yeah, this isn't good," Rud said, still staring, dumbfounded, at the object.
"So what exactly is the issue?" Mira asked, coming a little closer to look at the object. "It should have stopped the magical effect, right?"
"Yeah, but it hasn't," Rud said, scratching his head. "And if I let it stay here, it'll flood your camp. I'm just not sure what to do."
"Your ritual is working," Ban said, speaking into Rud's mind. "But the residual magic in the object is too great. If you leave it long enough, the magic will fade."
"Maybe you did it wrong," Mira offered, clearly not hearing Ban's message.
Rud clicked his tongue, so it wasn't a matter of the ritual not working. It would just take a while for it to sap away the lingering magic within the object. That meant he had to take it somewhere. He could allow the water to flow off without fear of flooding, either to the grove or to the mortals. He could pick a remote spot near the mountains, but maybe there were problems with erosion. Instead, he had a much better idea.
"Nulsa, you awake?" Rud asked.
A moment later, the owl responded. "I am now."
"Perfect. I need a hand."
Rud hadn't wanted to awaken the owl to bring it to the logging camp, but now he had no choice. The distance from here to the coastline was too far, and the daylight was running out. When the owl finally arrived at the logging site, he did so with an annoyed hoot. The druid dispelled his ritual circle and transferred the cursed object back into the basket. After instructing Nulsa to grab it, he shifted into his raven form and took off, heading south toward the coast.
"What kind of plan is this?" Nulsa asked, hooting softly. They soared over Barlgore, looking down at the people who appeared like ants from this distance.
"There are some islands to the south," Rud said. "What better place to put a cursed object that makes infinite water than an island? Also, everyone likes a beach episode. Right."
"Indeed," Nulsa said. "Sea monster activity should be minimal this time of year."
"Sea-what-now?"