It was sometime near midnight by the time the otherworldly adventuring party was ready to head out. However, they weren't going directly to the tower. Instead, Rud walked them through the empty streets of the Grove and toward the most lavish of the rest areas, first drawing them a bath and then presenting them with their accommodations.

Of course, he couldn't understand the chatter of the other members of the party, but what he caught from Roland was that they were excited to have a hot bath and somewhere comfortable to sleep before they took on the tower. There might have been some debate among them about whether they should head directly inside, but comfort won out, and they eventually all filed into the bathhouse for a nice soak.

Rud sighed as he leaned against the trunk of a tree, slumping down as his head drooped.

"I think it's safe to say that you nailed that," Ban said. "I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom," Rud said, taking a few more steadying breaths before getting back to his feet. He loosened his shoulders and worked a crick out of his back before making his way back to the clearing. He stood under the boughs of the massive sacred tree for quite some time, looking up at the flowers that seemed to sprawl on forever. "Do you think it went too well?"

"That's the problem. A few people have experience with outworlder adventurers like that, so it's hard to say. All I know is those people have enough power to level not only the grove but the entire region to the ground. Their courteous behavior is a sign of them respecting the sovereignty of our world."

Ban had switched away from telepathic communication. Her voice flooded through the clearing like a clear bell, bringing immense comfort to the druid. A few moments of peaceful silence later and Mint came rushing to give her opinion.

"Violating local laws means godly intervention," she said, huffing for breath in her wolf form. "I just talked to some gods."

"You can talk to gods?" Rud asked.

"Yeah, I do that sometimes. That's how I struck a deal to get you. There's this one guy… I think his name is Fred, but I don't know or care," Mint said. "He's keeping a close eye on the outworlders."

Rud wasn't sure if it was the threat of godly intervention that kept the adventurers in line. It seemed as though they were only interested in running the tower. However, there was something interesting to note here. Somebody back on the main continent had summoned them, meaning that people had the ability to reach beyond this world. Maybe it was just a one-way message, but something about that lingered in his mind. It wasn't a desire to return home. The druid knew that what he had here was far better than anything he had ever experienced on Earth. He wouldn't easily give up his position as the custodian, but perhaps there were others.

"I think they're swell," Rud said. "They liked my tea and cheese. And anyone who likes my tea and cheese is alright with me."

The discussion about the visitors to the grove was short-lived. Rud was getting tired, and things had gone better than he had expected. He excused himself from the meeting and circled around the sacred tree, finding his way to his mushroom house. What he didn't expect was for a fox to be sleeping in front of his wood-burning stove. "You know, there are other places you can stay," the druid said, kicking off his boots and jumping into his own bed.

"Yes, but your fire is warm," Jasper said, yawning.

"How did you even start the fire?" Rud asked. "You don't have opposable thumbs."

"Magic," Jasper said with a laugh. "Just kidding. I have an elven form I can take when I wish."

Although the fox said nothing else, Rud knew the implications. Only powerful Sacred Beasts were granted access to mortal forms. Dean still couldn't even take one, and he was pretty sure Nulsa didn't have one either. That meant Jasper was particularly powerful. The druid didn't know what to think about it. And he couldn't think about it. Sleep overcame him quicker than he thought. Even with the energizing tea rushing through his system, he was out within four breaths.

***

Rud woke with a start the next morning. It was before dawn. Even though he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep, he was up with full clarity. The druid bolted from his bed, disturbing Jasper as he rushed from his mushroom house. He had to go back to get his boots and staff.

"What have you stirred up?" Ban asked.

Rud shifted into his raven form, diving into the nearest bush without even offering a response. He peered outside the observatory and flew through the open window, shifting back to his true form in a swift motion. He slid on the floor and rushed over to the radio, accepting the aspect. He scanned the skies.

"Everything has to go perfectly for those adventurers," he said, noting the subtle energies in the air that had shifted since last night. The portal they took to get here had left behind traces of the magic. He wanted to ensure that no more would form, but the aurora in the air wasn't nearly as intense as yesterday, so he dismissed it as residual magic. Perhaps Rud could help with this more, but for now, he wanted to make the experience of the adventurers perfect.

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"Well, at least you're taking your job seriously," Ban said, giggling into his mind. "I think you've given them enough of a good impression that you have nothing to worry about."

Of course, Rud hoped she was right, but he wouldn't take any chances. He wanted everything to go perfectly. So, he sent a mental message to Taz to make a breakfast worthy of Outworlder adventurers. However, it turned out the dwarf was already on the task with some help from Mint. Since she was one of the other Grove members with fingers and thumbs, she was the perfect candidate. As the druid thought about it, he realized that Jasper could also help, although that might be more difficult.

Rud flicked the radio on. "Rud here, anyone else up this early?" he asked.

"I am," Maria shot back.

It was hard not to laugh. It seemed as though Maria spent more time at her radio than away from it. "I've got an interesting story to tell you," he said, leaning back in his chair and kicking his feet up. All the while, he kept an eye on the adventurers, who, from what he could tell, were still in the rest area. Their magical signatures were hard to miss.

"Juicy gossip? I'm ready for it," Maria said.

Rud cleared his throat, then told the story of the outworlder adventurers. Maria offered her fair share of gasps and shocked proclamations as the druid told the story. Since their network of informants through the Groves was incomplete, there was no way they could know if the others had visitors. All the more reason for him to work with Jasper and Elm down in the underground city.

"That sounds like a lot of pressure," Maria said. "Can you handle it?"

"For now," Rud said. "Their leader is actually very nice. But my Guardian said they're being watched by the gods. Kinda like probation, maybe?"

"Maybe. Doesn't mean you shouldn't keep an eye out for anything weird. You need to stay safe."

Rud agreed with her, but knew he could take care of himself. His schedule had become suddenly busy. But whatever else he had to do moved to the side when he took on the responsibility of watching over these adventurers. Once they left the rest area, he would make contact and lead them to the tower. Since it seemed to be taking them a while to wake up, he instead chased Sarya outside of the area and told her to inform him when they left. Instead, he proceeded to the southwest of the grove to attend to the dungeons.

The small group of adventurers that had remained within the grove was camping just outside a dungeon. They were waking up for the day and did not mind when Rud made contact. They gave him a report of how many dungeons they had damaged and where they were located. They also revealed they had conducted advanced scouting for more dungeons and found one that had eluded the magical senses of both the druid and Nulsa.

"Seven dungeons," Rud said, shaking his head. He produced a half-wheel of cheese from his bag and held it aloft. "I present to you this cheese as reward for your efforts."

The group of five adventurers shared a look before accepting the gift. "Thank you, great spirit," the man leading the party said with a bow of his head. "You're gracious."

Of course, the mortals had offerings for Rud. They gave him materials and items they had found within the dungeon, and he was all too happy to accept them. Once they were done with their pleasantries, they went their separate ways, and the druid sized up the five dungeons he had to absorb. It would be a rush of new attributes skyrocketing his effective level. He didn't even watch the system messages that appeared as he absorbed the dungeons, leaving them for later.

By the time Rud was done absorbing each dungeon, he had seven messages to go over. That's when the system, ever helpful as it was, did him a favor. It condensed the messages into one easy-to-ready pop-up.

[7 Dungeon Souls Absorbed]

Your [Custodian's Twig] has absorbed multiple dungeons within Gladesbale Grove's borders.

This artifact has gained the following attributes, destroying all dungeons in the process:

+3 Strength, +5 Vigor, +8 Agility, +10 Mind, +5 Affinity

Rud could feel the power flooded through his body. He was lightheaded as he read the message over several times, forcing him to take a seat. It was the single biggest jump he had ever made in his attributes at once, hurtling him forward 31 levels in only about a half-hour. His vision swam as he summoned his attribute screen to review his progress.

[Rud]

Main Class:

Rank 1 Level 1 Druid

Subclass:

Rank 0 Level 7 Grove Custodian

Attributes:

Health: 164

Mana: 310

Strength: 17

Agility: 19

Vigor: 20

Mind: 37

Affinity: 22

Titles:

[Keeper of the Gladesbale Grove]

Of course, Rud had been neglecting his levels. Both his class and subclass weren't advancing as quickly as they could've been. But with such a massive increase in attributes, he wouldn't complain. As long as more dungeons spawned in the grove, he'd keep getting absurdly strong. How would he use that strength? To grow plants, of course.

The druid's attributes put him about 81 levels ahead of where he should've been. Of course, he wasn't as strong as someone at Rank 8. Ranks carried their own realm of power. But those extra attributes would help him care for the grove, especially when it came to the increased mana he now had access to. And the Affinity was great, making it easier for him to cast his spells. Everything together meant his life in the Grove was easier, enabling him to do more for his Sacred Tree.

"They're awakening," Sarya said, speaking into the druid's mind.

"Perfect timing," Rud said. "I'll be there in a moment."

Rud swayed when he stood to his feet, but eventually shifted into his raven form. He took off into the sky, diving into the canopy of the trees above and teleporting just outside of the rest area. He found the adventuring party ready to go. They had apparently refused breakfast from Taz and Mint, but eventually relented and put the dishes into their impressive dimensional storage.

Just as Rud shifted back into his true form, another portal appeared behind him. He smiled, nodding to the adventurers. "Guess that means you guys are ready to go."

"Indeed we are," Roland said. "Lead the way, druid."

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