Piercing Gaze made Rud’s morning farseeing far easier. The scent of the soaps he used last night lingered on his skin and in his hair, still pungent in his nose even after sleeping. He had ascended the tower that morning and got to searching, scouring the entire grove. His new Farseeing skill combined with the Efficient Custodian ability to make the job easier than ever before. The signature of energy pulsed throughout the grove, allowing him to pinpoint the monsters and dungeons for his reports.

  But the radio had remained silent that morning. No matter how many times he called the other tower, he earned no response from the custodian there. Perhaps the problem with her dwarves ran deeper than even she knew. Rud had finished documenting the dungeons and was searching the southwestern border of the grove. There had been another dungeon springing up in that area. If the mortals didn’t organize to remove them soon, things would get bad.

  “You guys… again?” Rud asked, shaking his head.

  A group of mortals had set up camp near the grove’s border, appearing as though they intended to delve inside once again. It could have been the same group as last time, but Rud couldn’t tell. If this became a common occurrence, Mint would need to get involved. That meant using her fangs and claws to put an end to the mortals. As much as he didn’t want to think about it, the druid knew the importance of protecting the grove. Especially when Ban was still down for the count.

  The only bright side to Ban’s slumber was her newest upgrade. Energy Flowers had slowed her energy consumption to about half. She needed half as much crystals to stay within an appropriate level of reserve energy. This turned Rud’s seven-day supply of crystals into a hoard. With no desire to do so, Rud allowed the Farseeing skill to fade and pushed himself away from his desk. The mortals wouldn’t make it far into the grove, even if they sprinted from where they were. He took his time completing his report to the mortals in Barlgore, teleporting to the stump field when he was ready.

  One massive tree had been felled. A group of woodworkers were removing the bark and singing a song. They didn’t notice the little druid as he retrieved crystals from his mailbox and inserted his letter into the ‘outgoing’ section. He used Shapeshift: Squirrel to avoid bothering the workers and scampered over to the house he had built them. The interior was immaculate. A neat stack of firewood rested by the wood-burning stove, and each surface seemed to have been polished by hand.

  Rud left the building, climbing the side and perching on the boughs. A ways down the stone path, he saw a single tent. I might have been Mira’s, but he couldn’t tell from this distance. One scamper later and he was dropping some serious eaves at the tent’s side. He allowed his acute squirrel hearing to drink in the conversation.

  “Not that it would matter,” Mira said, blowing out a frustrated breath.

  “We haven’t seen one on this side. We’re fine,” another woman’s voice. Rud didn’t recognize it, but it was soothing.

  “How long would that take?” Mira asked, sounding more frustrated with every word. “We’re one wave away from destruction as it is. Imagine if another dungeon spawned in the south.”

  Rud backed away from the tent, feeling dirty that he was listening in. Considering what Mira was saying, the mortals weren’t doing good. He found something hard to nibble on to calm his nerves and thought his way through it. This was a problem with the mortals he hadn’t wanted to consider in the past. They were keeping things from him because they thought he was some mystical spirit. Feather might have gone nuts if he learned all custodians were from another world. At least the tree and the guardian were native…

  Rud shook his head, dislodging those errant thoughts. The mortals were in trouble. They couldn’t defend their crappy town and strike out against the dungeons. The adventurers who ‘volunteered’ to destroy the dungeons in the grove didn’t have a good time. He suspected they made it out by a narrow margin. Every other adventurer was more interested in exploring, which might have been a sign that they were looking for a better place to live. Or he was overthinking things again. The druid nodded to himself as a plan flashed through his mind. Maybe it wasn’t perfect, but it could help.

  Scampering away from the tent, Rud found the nearest bush within the grove and teleported. He first found his way to the Sacred Tree, where he instructed Dean to go do some good old-fashioned murder. Then he scampered—still in squirrel mode—to a section of the forest he remembered. Every answer to any problem he faced could be found here. Under the boughs of those sprawling trees. He took care when collecting several plant samples and headed to make sure Dean didn’t murder the mortals too badly.

  Rud watched as Dean tore through the group of mortals. Against his instructions, the wolf only wounded them. While watching, the druid’s Shapeshifting skill leveled to Level 3. The mortals limped away, screaming in fear.

  “Great job,” Rud squeaked from a tree. “Where do you think they’re from?”

  “I couldn’t say.” Dean was still growling after the mortals. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to help the mortals out. Not those mortals. The ones we like.”

  “Why would you help them? They’re fine.”

  “I don’t think they are. They’re pretending they’re fine. I saw another dungeon sprout to the south.”

  “Another? This isn’t the time to joke.”

  “That makes five. And guess what? I’m thinking they’re going to keep coming until the mortals can clear them out.”

  Dean growled, but nodded. “The magical energy in this area is unstable. It is the richest soup I have ever tasted.”

  “I could go for some soup,” Rud said, dashing down the side of the tree. “I’ll be back.”

  Dean dashed after Rud as he ran away. The wolf seemed concerned. “Are you going to the mortal town?”

  “Yup! I have a plan.”

  “Are you going to… run there?”

  “Yeah. Wanna come?”

  Dean shook his massive head. “Just hop on. You can stay in your squirrel form.”

  “Why not!?”

  Rud jumped onto Dean’s back, finding the action easy to do while in his squirrel form. His plan for the Shapeshifting Magic skill was simple enough. He would be a squirrel as often as he could and pray that he would get another form. Something fearsome like a wolf. The wolf dashed off before he could say anything else, but it didn’t matter. Holding on was easier as a squirrel, and he had packed his backpack with all the things he would need. He just hoped the mortals would like his plan.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  There were twice as many guards on the wooden walls of the city than the last time. Rud would use the information he learned from Mira’s conversation to see if he was right. But first, he needed to find Lord Feather. At least the people in town didn’t care about a squirrel riding a giant wolf. They had seen enough weird things to accept it as fact. Feather wasn’t in his normal haunt, but the duo found him near the southern wall. Staring off into the ocean, the lord turned and tilted his head at the strange sight.

  “Great spirit?”

  Rud jumped from Dean’s back, shifting into his true form before he landed. He tried to do a heroic landing, but tumbled over. After dusting himself off, he struck a proper pose. “Greetings, Lord Feather. Sir.”

  “What can I help you with?” Yeah, he was being short. Something was going on.

  “I come with a blessing from the grove!” Rud shouted, hoisting his staff to the sky. “Behold!”

  Feather blinked slowly as Rud removed a plant from his backpack and held it to the sky.

  “That’s a lovely bit of… What is that? Brambles? I accept your gift graciously, spirit.” Feather bowed.

  Rud pulled the plant away when Feather tried to take it. “Mine.”

  Feather sighed. “I’m rather busy. Could we skip the part where you’re weird and tell me what you want?”

  “I’m here to bless Barlgore!” Rud proclaimed.

  “With a bush?”

  “Not just any bush. This right here is the bramblest bramble that you’ve ever seen.” Rud pricked his finger on the plant again. “I know you’re having problems with the monsters. You can’t even defend your own town.”

  Feather set his jaw, staring down at Rud. Yep! The town was screwed.

  “I’m going to plant brambles around your walls. Then you won’t have to worry about defending your town!” He held a pointed finger up in triumph.

  Rud’s proclamation fell flat on the leader. He sighed again, reaching out to touch the plant. Feather didn’t even wince when the thorns pricked his finger. “This won’t keep a toddler out.”

  Rud had to keep his energy up for this. Feather wouldn’t go for this plan if he didn’t see a demonstration. The size of a plant didn’t matter. The druid could make the plant larger, and spread it out to create a barrier against the town’s walls. “A demonstration!”

  Feather rolled his shoulders and sighed. “I don’t have any other options. Show me, spirit.”

  Rud marched through the town, finding his way to the gate leading to the west. Feather followed closely behind him. The guards on the walls gave him a strange look when he exited onto the dirt road, but he waved them away. The druid planted the brambles about four feet from the wall, giving them plenty of room to grow.

  “In ten years, we’ll have thorns large enough to protect this one log,” Feather said, slapping his hand against the wall. “Thank you for your time, spirit.”

  “But wait! There’s more!” He continued, holding up his hands and waggling his fingers. Jazz hands!

  Rud hoisted his staff into the air, calling forth the Plant Growth spell. He cast it twice, until the thorny bush was almost as tall as the wall and about ten logs wide. This got the lord’s attention. The needle-like thorns that had dotted the plant had grown to the length of Rud’s arm. At least Lord Feather was slightly more impressed.

  “You have my attention,” he said, approaching the brambles. He ran his finger along the length of a thorn. It cut him with ease. He surveyed the span of the wall. “Could you cover the entire town?”

  Rud couldn’t do the job in a single day. He hadn’t shown Feather the next step of his plan. He collected the components required to cast Shape Plant and went to work. It wasn’t as easy since he wasn’t inside the grove, as he didn’t have access to the Grove Weaver upgrade to his Construction Magic skill. Feather was still impressed with the druid’s ability to spread the thorny vines across the wall. Once they were spread out enough, he rested long enough to cast Plant Growth once more. The thorns were now as long as swords, and just as sharp.

  The wooden walls of Barlgore covered a great area. But by combining Plant Growth with Shape Plant, Rud could make each plant cover a significant span. The strain was increased since he wasn’t within the grove, but he estimated it would only take a few days to cover the entire place. The plant he had selected—something he thought of only as brambles, but realized was more like tangled vines with thorns—was perfect for the job.

  “This is impressive,” Feather said, approaching the defensive wall. He angled his head, trying to find a way to approach the wall. Entering the tangle would have torn him apart. “We are in your debt. So long as you can cover the entire town.”

  “Shouldn’t be a problem. This is going to take me a few days, though. All I ask is that you work on removing the dungeons…. Oh… About that.” Rud explained the new dungeon that has sprung up south of the grove.

  Feather seemed unsurprised. “No point hiding it. Is there? Since the grove sprouted, the amount of dungeons we’re seeing is increasing. We cannot keep up.”

  “Will this help?” Rud asked, gesturing to the wall of thorns.

  “Of course. I’m happy to dedicate resources if I know we’re better defended. And if we could get the help of the grove while assaulting the dungeons, that would be even better.”

  Rud and Feather talked about a general plan to assault the dungeons. The lord admitted that it was hard to get people to volunteer. Running dungeons was done by adventurers back in Sparwyn, but it was a controlled thing. Dungeons were understood before they were tackled by adventurers, giving them information about what was inside. Monsters, traps, and bosses were all documented. It was rare that someone would dive into a dungeon just to destroy it. Even worse, he revealed that there was only a single healer in this colony. That was Oak, who was overworked as it was.

  When Feather was done explaining their situation, Rud waited a few beats. This was a time where some spirit would look at him and think ‘hey, that custodian sure could use some healing magic to help things along.’ It took about four breaths before one of them noticed him.

  [Spell Obtained!]

  The Cleansing Spirit River has taken notice of you. He has gifted you with the Nature’s Restoration spell.

  “There we go,” Rud said. Feather asked what he was talking about, but he examined his new spell.

  [Nature’s Restoration]

  Rank 0 Druid Spell

  Healing Magic

  Component:

  Mana Cost:

  30

  Description:

  Infuse a being with nature’s healing powers.

  Effect:

  Affected target will regenerate health over the next 30 seconds.

  This spell does not remove disease, poison, etc but the target's wounds will close. Fractures and so on will not be mended.

  If it got so dire that the mortals were on the back foot, Rud could sub as a healer. He studied the description and effects and had to wonder if he could use the spell on non-humanoid things like wild animals and plants. But he wouldn’t reveal this new spell to Feather. The mortals didn’t need to know, and Rud doubted his ability to split much time between the grove and dungeons if he wanted.

  Feather had a few more things to say about the wall of thorns, but promised to dedicate his resources to the dungeon. Rud had considered encircling the dungeons in brambles as well, but the town’s western approach needed it more for now. The druid only had so much time outside of the grove, so he worked with the three plants he had brought. The mortals gave him space to work, and he appreciated the solitude. Dean watched from a distance but was more interested in lounging in the sun.

  Rud felt too weakened to assume his squirrel form by the time he was done. It had taken several hours to plant, grow, and shape the three brambles. Those natural defenses covered half of the western wall, leaving a sizable gap near the gate. Everything seemed in order when they returned to the grove. Hagsrise still wasn’t on the radio, but there were no more interlopers. The dungeons were calm and Ban’s radiant energy flowed through the druid’s body to restore his energy levels.

  Instead of getting back to it like a good worker, Rud joined with the crew in the longhouse. He relaxed by the fire. Since the icy rain had left, the temperature outside seemed absolutely pleasant. Between the frozen island—likely driven by magic—and the changing of the seasons, there was no way it would stay so pleasant. Colder weather was on its way, and with it came snow. Snow, ice, and long days spent before this fire.

  Perhaps the changing of the seasons wouldn’t be so bad.