NOVEL NEXT 3.5 - Rud's Plan
Rud had a restful sleep that night. At first, he had worried about things in the grove changing, with the sacred beasts getting serious about running the tower. He was concerned that the mood would have soured, but by the time he arrived at breakfast, he saw his worries were unfounded. Everyone was there, eating breakfast and talking amongst themselves with the same cheery tone he loved. He got a bowl of the perpetual stew, took a seat, and went over his plans for the immediate future in his head.
Interfacing with the mortals was his most important job. Therefore, the item highest on his list was ensuring that the few adventurers they had were given easy access to the dungeons. For this task, he needed to scout the new dungeons and create pathways to them. As he was doing this, he also needed to remove the old pathways. Otherwise, it would become a tangled web that no adventurer could hope to traverse. Of course, part of this task also included him destroying the dungeons, which was something he looked forward to. It meant he could also increase his attributes, making it a win-win situation.
The next item on his list was an ever-important task. There were diseased trees spread throughout the grove that were sucking power from the sacred tree. He needed to cut those down and replant them with healthy ones. The last item on his list was working on the theme park idea, which he could do in between the other tasks, and it really wasn't that important. Getting new adventurers into the Grove wouldn't be a matter of creating attractions so much as making facilities so they could run the tower and elaborate.
"Rud, could you handle the cows today?" Taz asked, rolling his shoulders. "I've got a situation in the mine."
Rud snapped back to the moment, nodding to his friend. "Sure. What's going on in the mine?"
"Nothing to worry yourself about," Taz said, holding up his hands. "I don't want to pull you off your projects. I had a minor cave-in. Just a small one, mind you."
Rud pursed his lips. A cave-in didn't sound like a minor situation, but he could see the flash of pride in the dwarf's face. Although Taz had integrated well into the Grove, there were still times when he was the same stubborn dwarf that stumbled through the woods half-starved. The same apostate that had been cast out from the Dwarven Homes to the north. The druid nodded, fighting back the urge to spring into the mine and reinforce every single wall with living beams of wood.
"You know what really wouldn't take long with my new specialization…" Rud said.
"Please let me walk on my own," Taz said, shaking his head. "I want to do this."
"Okay, but if it gets out of hand, let me know. Teamwork makes the dream work."
Taz grumbled for a moment. "I like that one…"
With his long list of things to do, Rud still had other responsibilities. He started the day after finishing his breakfast. He began by heading to the tower to make his report. There was nothing unusual happening in the other groves, despite the appearance of the system structures. No one had any trouble with the sudden appearances of monsters, as Ban had expected. The dungeons that appeared throughout the area were acting more like batteries rather than things intended to create monsters.
"Just make sure you clear those dungeons, okay?" Rud asked, thumbing the button on his microphone. "Are we any closer to sending messages to the other groves?"
"Yeah, we're trying," Jim said. "Problem is, getting Bent's attention is like teaching a toddler calculus. Right when you think he understands integrals, he craps his pants."
Rud wasn't sure what he thought about the analogy, but he nodded anyway. It was actually a decent assessment of how Bent worked. Ban might have made it sound as though she could communicate clearly with him, but the druids seriously doubted that the stag spirit was unknowable and impossibly powerful. Grabbing his attention was indeed like teaching a toddler calculus, except with more fear and terror involved. And the only one crapping their pants would be the one speaking to the spirit.
"Right. That's a big problem," Rud said. "Any suggestions on how we can communicate otherwise?"
"Yup. Portals," Maria said. "Right now, we're targeting Harg, Aegael, River, and Slouge. If we can establish portals there, we can send letters. According to your plan, Rud."
"Right… My plan," Rud said, scratching his chin. "The plan that I came up with. The plan to send stuff rather than people over to the other groves."
"You're making steps to complete the plan, right?" Jim asked, a tone of amusement in his voice.
Rud winced as he looked out onto the balcony. He waved as Nulsa alighted onto the banister and held up a single finger, asking for a moment to finish the call.
"I'm still in the research phase," Rud said. "I've got a lot of the forest to care for before I can hope to approach the portal problem, but I'll put it as item two on my to-do list."
The group went over a few more things before the call ended. Rud sighed as he clicked the radio off, but he couldn't help but focus on the feeling of warmth spreading through his chest. It came any time he talked to his fellow custodians over the radio, but especially when he heard Maria's voice. She was so normal compared to everything he experienced in the grove. It was like having a slice of Earth at his fingertips.
"Do you require help?" Nulsa asked, tilting his head to one side.
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"Scouting," Rud said, allowing his eyes to go unfocused as he used his far-seeing skill. He turned his head to one side slowly, focusing on the pinpricks of light that appeared far in the distance. Nulsa waited for him to finish the scan. "There aren't any more dungeons compared to yesterday. That's a good thing, right?"
"Unlikely. Our biggest problem is finding the dungeons. As I have expressed, they are disguising their magical signature," Nulsa said.
Rud gritted his teeth as he leaned back in his chair. His far-seeing ability was powerful, and it had helped him in more ways than he could count. Getting that skill to rank one might provide him with an upgrade that would make things easier. He could also upgrade the tower itself, but he had a feeling it wouldn't help him penetrate the magical barriers that prevented them from detecting the dungeons. He also had to consider that the owl's sacred beast was strong. Was there anything he could hope to do to aid Nulsa?
"What's our biggest problem with detecting these things?" Rud asked. "A magical barrier is blocking our sight, right?"
"Correct."
"Yet the dungeons have a physical form," Rud said. "I can't really scan the entire grove by eye with my Farseeing ability. The way it snaps from first- to third-person doesn't lend well to that."
"I have been flying patterns over the grove manually, attempting to discover these dungeons, but so far, I've only found one."
"I can ask the forest animals to help, but the only ones I see being useful are the birds, and they are almost impossible to wrangle." Rud said, "Perhaps if we found something intelligent, like a crow or a raven, I could convince them to do it, but I don't believe I've seen that type of bird around here."
"This region isn't notable for its intelligent birds," Nulsa said. "You should give it a try anyway. There is a species of bird that is intelligent enough; I shall describe it for you."
The animal the owl described sounded like a magpie, much to Rudd's dismay. There weren't many owls in the region, but Nulsa suggested contacting them if he could find them. For now, he would run off and fly patterns over the Grove while the druid attempted to make contact with the birds.
"This plan is for the birds," Rud said under his breath.
"What was that?" Nulsa asked just before taking off from the balcony.
"Nothing!" Rud said, shifting into his squirrel form and running away. He had used his Farseeing ability in conjunction with the Animal Tracking upgrade on the barn to find birds that seemed similar to the magpies. "Aren't magpies crows? Ugh, whatever. They're fantasy-versions of magpies, anyway."
A small flock of magpies was lingering near the southern reaches of the Grove. Animals often used the forested area as a refuge. They might not be very intelligent by sapient standards, but the protection of the Grove seemed engrained in all animals. They knew if they hid out, they would be safe. Unless they were a naughty wolf, then they were dinner.
Rud activated his Clear Communication upgrade as he landed on a branch. A group of black and white birds watched as he approached, all sweeping their heads from one side to the other to get a better look at him.
"Greetings, fellow animals," Rud said.
"Not bird!" one magpie screamed. The others were quick to join.
"Ah, but I can glide. Which makes me half-bird," Rud said.
The magpies shared a confused look then locked their collective gaze back onto him. "Half-bird!" they shouted back, squawking and jumping on the branches of the tree. "Welcome, half-bird!"
"Yup. So, are you guys interested in a job?" Rud asked. "I need to find something."
"Finding! We are excellent finders," a magpie said. Of course, the others repeated the message at double volume.
What did magpies like to eat? Garbage? The brains of unsuspecting folks in Australia? "For this task, I shall award you delicious nuts and seeds."
"Seeds! Nuts!" the magpies chanted. "Seeds and nuts! Seeds and nuts! What are we finding?"
"A dungeon," Rud said. "A dungeon that can shield itself from magical sight."
"We shall search!" the flock shouted, taking off before Rud could say anything else. They scattered into the air, diving and cawing as they went.
The druid blinked a few times, unsure what he should do. After he regained his senses, he entered the nearest cluster of leaves and teleported to the southern reaches of the Grove. At least he could work on the pathways while he waited for the magpies to find what he was looking for. Naturally, the task was fairly simple. With all his boons, he removed and added sections of the living pathway as though he was simply waving a hand.
The adventurers had gone into one dungeon already, and it would likely take them most of the day to clear it. Rud checked on the supplies in their makeshift shelter, finding that they had dug into the cheese and made a few pots of tea.
It took a few hours, but Rud figured the adventurers were sorted out for a few days. Maybe a week depending on how quickly they worked. The cheese and tea would bolster them, meaning they would need less rest. What was better than the power of cheese?
Rud returned to the place where he had found the magpies before and was shocked to see a gaggle of the creatures waiting for him. They met him with a chorus of strangled squawks, each voice trying to overtake the last. Good thing the druid had stuffed his pockets with assorted nuts and seeds.
"We have delivered!" one magpie shouted, swooping and dropping something at Rud's feet. Another came next, putting a perplexed look on his face. "Delivered!"
Rud bent over, plucking an object from beneath a leaf. Another one fell on his head, rolling harmlessly to the ground. "What is this?" he asked.
"A dungeon!" one magpie shouted, releasing something else.
"This is a button," Rud said.
"What is the difference?" another magpie asked. "Where are our seeds? Payment from the half-bird!"
"Payment!"
Rud pinched the bridge of his nose, releasing a heavy sigh. He scooped up the treasures dropped by the magpies, shoving them in his pocket and exchanging them for various nuts and seeds. The magpies loved it, their voices filling the air to form a cacophonous noise that forced the druid to drop the Clear Communication upgrade. He rolled one button over in his fingers, brows knitting as he saw the chunk of fabric still clinging to it.
"Did you guys… steal this from Barlgore?" Rud asked, tossing handfuls of nuts onto the grounds.
He only got their calls in response, and quickly turned away in frustration. Rud didn't know what he had expected. Nulsa talked him into recruiting the birds, but it had ended exactly how he foresaw. Birds weren't like mammals. It was much easier to talk to squirrels. Just as the druid was passing through a bush to address another one of his responsibilities, the druid felt something strange flooding through his chest.
A message appeared in his vision.