Wooden crates were stacked high in the portal room, topped with several wheels of cheese and pots of tea. An empty wooden box—formed from mature wood from one very lucky oak tree—was empty. It was the future home of the crystal shard. The one thing River's Grove really needed to get their Observatory running. Even if Rud had never met Kiara, he wanted her in the fold more than anything.

He wanted the Groves to be whole.

"Are you forgetting anything?" Elm asked.

"The kitchen sink, maybe," Rud said. "We have enough energy to send a bunch of crap. So I'm sending a bunch of crap."

"Yet, you're missing the most important thing."

Although that was true, the most difficult work had already been done. They might not have handled the underground city problem correctly, but it was managed. He now had access to a large supply of those crystal shards, which could be used to power each and every grove. Alongside that, they also had a functioning Gate, which would provide them free access to the other groves, as long as they had the energy to power it.

"I'll get to that," Rud said. "Ban is doing some checks on her condensed power reserves, then we're good to make a link."

"No luck talking to River through Bent?" Elm asked.

Rud shot her a concerned look. It was an expression he couldn't wipe away so easily. Dealing with Bent was a last resort in his book. Understanding what the stag was thinking was an impossible task. The last way Bent had looked at him still sent shivers up his spine when he brought the image into thought.

"Absolutely not," Rud said. "You'll learn more about him when the time is right."

"I don't think I've ever seen you so serious," Elm said. "But I'll drop it. Want to go grab a few fragments?"

"A few?"

"You were only going to send one?" Elm said with a laugh. "We should send five. At least."

"Fair enough," Rud said, doing a count of the crates and double-checking their contents. Everything was there. Kiara would have some seriously good food by the end of the day. And she'd have an observatory. "Let's go."

Jasper was busy with something today, although he wouldn't say what it was. Instead, Rud and Elm were joined by Dean, which the elf was delighted for.

"I can finally hear you!" Elm said, patting the wolf on the head. "What a joy."

"Indeed. It is my belief that all should hear my voice. Even when they don't want to," Dean said.

Rud didn't want to teleport down into the city. Just in case his efforts to bolster the area had failed. Instead, they used the spiral staircase he had created, descending the steps at a decent pace. It allowed for light conversation, something Dean seemed all too eager to engage in.

"So you have joined our Grove," Dean said, hopping down the steps. It was awkward for a quadruped to take the stairs.

"Not exactly," Elm said, producing an awkward laugh. "I'm the champion, which means I'm kind of a member, but I'm not bound by the same contract."

"Wait, that was an option?" Dean asked.

"For one person," Rud said. "You don't count since you're a wolf."

"Ah, understandable."

To Rud's delight, the supports he had created for the underground city had held up overnight. Although he could feel the wood straining, he knew they would hold for quite a while. If he infused them with even more of his power, they would last even longer. This was a great success, and they now had free access to the giant crystal embedded in the ceiling. The group moved to the scaffolding, standing close enough to the crystal to feel the energy radiating from it.

Rud cracked his neck, readying his staff. "Looks like a job for me," he said, pulling the artifact back and swinging it through the air. The wooden staff impacted the crystal, sending a disorienting vibration through his body.

Rud only realized it was a bad idea after he fell back onto the ground, unable to stop his forearms from hurting fiercely. Both Dean and Elm did their best not to laugh, but they couldn't hold it and were soon rolling on the ground.

"Perhaps smacking the gigantic magical crystal with a stick wasn't the best of ideas," Dean said.

"I'm all ears," Rud responded, finally pulling himself to his feet and dusting himself off.

"Well, I know of a certain dwarf who just got a fancy new pickaxe hammer thing. It might be perfect for extracting a few samples of the crystal," Elm said.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

It was far better than the current plan of staring at the giant glowing crystal and doing nothing else. Rud excused himself through a bush he generated and appeared just outside the blacksmith. He was happy to see that the dwarf was only stoking the fires of the forges and hadn't quite started working yet. It was the perfect time to interrupt him and force him to go underground. Dwarves loved going underground, didn't they?

"Of course I'll take any chance to go underground," Taz said with a booming laugh. "Just lead the way. If you need somebody to smack something, I've got the perfect tool," he said, hoisting his hammerpick high into the air and laughing.

Rud led the dwarf through the nearest bush, and they soon arrived at the scaffolding right near the crystal. Taz sized it up, rubbing his beard and shaking his head as though he could discern something from it just by looking at it. Rud, Elm, and Dean stood back, waiting for the only person in the grove with an appropriate class to solve the problem.

If there was some kind of danger of magical interaction, Elm didn't express it. Instead, the group simply watched as a Taz wound up, swinging the hammer's pick side first into the side of the crystal. It created the same resounding echo as when the druid hit it with his staff. But this time, the tiniest shard fell off—barely a piece of dust that danced to the platform below.

"That was just a practice swing!" Taz shouted.

The dwarf rested his hammer on the ground for a moment, spitting into his palms and rubbing his hands together before hoisting the tool once again. This time, he wound back with far more conviction and put his entire weight into the swing. It slammed against the side of the crystalline protuberance, sending a slight shockwave through the entire city. The shockwave seemed to travel along the rocks, creating small tremors that changed the pressure in the air. The dwarf was vibrating on the spot as a much larger piece of the crystal fell down, perhaps the size of the druid's pinky.

"That one looks good to me," Elm said, nodding with approval.

"We need a few more, if it isn't too much trouble," Rud shouted, getting a bit more distance away from the crystal.

Taz turned back, giving the thumbs-up before preparing to hit again. "I'm going all out on this one!"

True to his claim, the dwarf seemed to take on a more serious tone and posture. He coiled back, putting all his weight on his back foot before springing forward. This time, when he struck the crystal, the shockwave came from the impact between the object and the hammer itself. Rud could feel the wind on his face, and this time four perfectly shaped, pinky-sized crystals fell to the platform below, clattering before coming to rest. Each one held the same lustrous glow as the larger piece and a magical potential that the druid could only hope to sense.

"My hero," Dean said, doing his best to drive all sarcasm from his voice. The other members of the Grove knew the dwarf had some amount of pride in his abilities. When it came to things that needed to be mined or otherwise smacked with a very fancy hammerpick, the dwarf took himself very seriously.

"Excellent work," Rud said, coming close to the shards, but not daring to touch them. He looked at Elm for advice, but she only shrugged.

"They should be safe," she said. "Although I'm not sure about my track record with magical things lately."

Rud trusted her judgment and scooped up each small shard, holding them in his hands for a few moments. He felt nothing from them and decided they were completely inert. At least they wouldn't kill him just through contact. There was no system description of the items, but he had to trust that this was what he needed to send to Bendy Brook Grove, so he shoved them into his bag.

"Great work, everyone," Rud said. "Please proceed to the nearest bush and exit in an orderly fashion. If you'd like to see the operation of the Grove's Gate, make your way to the portal room as soon as possible. Thanks for flying Gladesbale Air."

Whether the denizens of this world had any idea about the airplane reference he had just made, Rud couldn't say. However, they all proceeded through the nearest bush and appeared outside the gate building. The druid could feel the energy crackling in the condenser, ready to be used at any moment, and he was eager to put it to work.

After checking the supplies again, Rud placed several shards into his specialized box, sealing it for transport.

"Is everything ready?" he asked, looking more to the tree for comfort than anything else.

"We're ready," Ban said, speaking with her true voice.

It didn't pass Rud's notice that Elm shivered when the sacred tree spoke. It would take her time to fully get used to the Sacred Tree's voice, but he was confident she would get there. The druid looked back at the people who had assembled to help him throw the boxes through the portal and nodded. They were all prepared to get to work right away.

Powerful energies gathered in the center of the Gate as it tapped into the Wild Way. That green energy coalesced in the center, creating a fine pointed leaf that spread out to create a magical sheen like the surface of a scummy pond. A moment later, Rud felt the energies click together, and he understood the portal had appeared on the other side. Without delay, he grabbed the nearest wheel of cheese and tossed it through, swiveling back to find Elm, handing him another crate. The members of the Grove worked in tandem, creating a chain that sent the supplies through the shimmering portal quickly. Only a moment after the last box went through, the portal snapped shut, and the gate went quiet.

"So, uh… How do we know if it worked?" Elm asked after an extended silence.

"It worked," Ban said. "Bent still has mixed feelings about us using the Wild Way. But after I explained our planned application, he mysteriously dropped the subject."

Rud noticed how Ban didn't say that he was happy after she explained. He just dropped the subject. The one thing the druid had to remember about Bent was that he wasn't a normal spirit. He was something so great that words were hard to describe. One day, the druid was sure he would understand the scale of that guy's power, but for now he was just content to know he wasn't in his way.

"I'll have Kiara on the radio once her observatory is built," Rud said. "Well, whenever that happens. Hard to see how things work in River's Grove…"

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to mind the forge," Taz said, stretching. "So long as I didn't burn it down while I was away."

As Taz walked away, Rud couldn't help himself but think about how strong that dwarf was. Maybe he didn't realize it, but crafting an item like that was incredibly impressive. One day Taznoz Coalbranch's true power would come out. Whatever he had done to become an apostate would be forgotten. He'd be remembered as a dwarf who joined a Druid Grove.

"Care for some tea?" Elm asked.

"Oh, you don't even have to ask," Rud said, turning away from the portal. He didn't look back as they made their way to the longhouse for some delicious tea.

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