Taz screamed. It was the highest-pitched noise Rud had ever heard him produce and at first, it seemed unwarranted. The pair had only been mining for a few hours before they reached a section with a large gap in the stone. The air that had come from within was stale and warm, unlike the crisp breeze that came from everywhere else.

"Get them off of me!" Taz shouted, rolling onto the ground and shrieking some more.

"Chill out, babies!" Rud shouted back, his Clear Communication in full effect. "Stay out of his mouth!"

"Flee! Flee! Flee!" the creatures gibbered.

Taz was covered from head to toe in small reptiles. At first, Rud had assumed they were lizards. His inexperience with reptiles made it hard to figure out what kind they were, but he eventually settled on them being some kind of salamander. After breaking through the gap in the wall, the duo had discovered an underground pool lined with the creatures. The dwarf had taken a step too close to the edge, taken a dip, and was covered completely by them.

"Stop rolling, you're gonna crush them," Rud said, swatting away the salamanders. "Get back in your pool, you weird creatures."

"I'm gonna die!" Taz moaned, clapping his hands over his ears and closing his eyes and mouth. He mumbled something after that, but Rud couldn't understand him.

"Guys!" Rud shouted, clapping his hands. Every lizard in the room stopped what they were doing, finally looking up at the druid now that Taz was still. "I know we're scared, but you can get back into your pool. If you stay outside of the pool, you're gonna get dry."

"I hate being dry," one salamander said. This one was light pink… matching his backpack.

"Right. If you don't want to be dry, get back in the pool."

"But the defiler!"

"The dwarf won't fall back into your pool. I promise," Rud said, shaking his head.

Although the salamanders were reluctant to listen, they eventually removed themselves from Taz and returned to the pool. The dwarf himself took even longer to stand, doing so with eyes and mouth closed, hand still over his ears.

"They gone?" Taz eventually asked.

"Yep. Been gone for about ten minutes."

Taz shivered.

"The wet lizards are now calm," Rud said. "Thanks to my druidic prowess. My ability to tell them to get back into the water is astounding… Anyway, do you still feel the thing we're after?"

"Beyond the pool," Taz grumbled, nodding forward.

Rud ran off, gathering the lantern he had placed on the ground. Despite having the Aspect of Gug, which increased his vision in the dark, it still wasn't good enough for him to see clearly. Beyond the pool of angry salamanders was another crack in the wall. There was a path around the water, but it was slippery. As long as Taz didn't fall in again, they would be fine.

This was the kind of project the druid would normally leave to Taz. Rud could've made quick work of it by manipulating roots and breaking the rock apart, but this was a chance to boost his subclass to Rank 1. His Mining skill was at Level 8, almost Level 9. A few more hours of mining, and he could bring it to Rank 1.

"Well, let me know if you figure out what it is," Rud said, hoisting his pickaxe and sizing up the wall. Thanks to his increased Strength, he was doing a lot better than when he had first arrived in the grove. "Until then, you can just behold my power."

"Can't even take you remotely seriously with that backpack," Taz said, grumbling as he followed alongside the pool's edge.

This crack in the wall was easier to move through. Rud had the hole big enough for himself in short order and wide enough for Taz soon enough. The druid led the way with his lantern, illuminating the gray rock and casting long shadows down the hall.

"Another random passageway," Rud said, helping his companion through the hole. "Did we ever decide what made these?"

"Nope," Taz said, sniffing the air. "But I think we're close. The closer we get, the more I can feel it. Seems like a magical object, or maybe a powerful gemstone."

"Oh, yeah?" Rud asked, squinting against the darkness. Somewhere in the distance he thought he saw the faint glow of something. He dimmed his lantern, allowing him to see the light better. "Maybe something like that?"

"That's it," Taz said, pushing past Rud and thundering down the hall.

Rud had to jog to catch up as the dwarf rushed around a corner and down a slope. At the end of the passageway was a small gem embedded in the rock. Taz approached with trembling hands, running his fingers over the surface and licking his lips.

"I felt it calling to me," he said, nodding to himself. "We need to be very careful. Gotta chip away the surrounding rock before we extract it. Otherwise the gem will shatter."

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Rud wanted to ask questions about how valuable a fragile gem like that would be, but shrugged it away. A few more swings and he would hit Level 9 in his Mining skill, then it was only a short sprint away from Rank 1. Instead, he pulled his pickaxe back and took a swing at the wall.

"Too close!" Taz complained. "You'll shatter it."

"Okay, then… Is this good?" Rud asked, gesturing to a place further from the gem.

"A little further," Taz said.

Rud rolled his eyes, but obeyed the commands of the dwarf. Something had made Taz crazy about this gem, so he wasn't about to ruin it. He got to work, chipping away layers of stone, only to have Taz yell at him for hitting too hard or too close to the gem. It must've been dark outside by the time they made any progress, and even then it seemed as though they had a long while to go. Rud's Mining skill had already rolled over to Level 9 a long time ago by the time they had revealed the delicate layers of stone surrounding the gem.

"Ah, that's a complication," Rud said, seeing why caution was necessary. The grain of the stone pointed in toward the gem, which naturally guided the druid's pick as he swung. Maybe that's what Taz was talking about…

"We may be here all night," Taz said.

Perhaps it was Rud's Vigor, but he just didn't feel tired. He shrugged, turning to a random wall and smacking it with his pickaxe.

"What are you doing?"

"Close to a rank," Rud said, turning and winking. "Might as well get something done while I wait for you to come up with a plan."

With a shrug, Taz took a step back and sized up the gem. Rud had no idea what he would do with the gem. Maybe it was just some dwarven need to collect all the gems he could find. Whatever the case, it hardly mattered to the druid. He felt his Mining skill getting closer with every swing. Time fell away as he worked and he put everything he had into hitting that goal. Just as he was feeling tired, a message flashed in his vision.

[Rank Up!]

You've performed enough actions with your Mining skill to gain a new rank!

Mining is now Rank 1, empowering the skill even further…

Your Mining skill has reached a milestone! Please select from the following upgrades…

The upgrade for the skill hardly mattered. Rud only planned to use it to get his subclass to Rank 1, but he still looked over the list of items to find the best pick. His first upgrade for the skill, Lightweight Picks, made a pickaxe weigh almost nothing to him. That had helped greatly when he first started mining, but with more Strength it hardly mattered.

"Can you give me a hand here?" Taz asked.

Rud nodded idly, giving the rocks a few gentle taps as he went over his upgrade.

[Deep Strikes]

Mining Upgrade

Description:

Strike the stone! To the bone!

Effect:

Strikes with your pickaxe will cut deeper, making it easier to split stones.

An upgrade that made mining itself an easier task was welcomed. Rud had a lot of trouble cutting through some stone he found within the mine. If he could have an upgrade that made digging through tough stone easier, he was happy to take it. The result was immediate, even with light strikes. A simple tap on the stone surrounding the gem caused a layer of stone to fall off in a sheet, shocking the dwarf.

"That was a bit more than expected," Taz said, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Rud yawned. "So, what's so special about this gem? And when can I go to bed?"

"I've never seen one like this," Taz said. "But my Prospector class is going crazy. It wants me to get it and my Blacksmith subclass wants me to make a hammer or something with it."

"That specific, huh?" Rud asked. "Well, I'm gonna go take a nap if that's okay with you. I failed to make my evening report, so I still gotta do that."

"Go on," Taz said. "I'll holler tomorrow if I need help."

Rud yawned again, nodding. He took an acorn from his pocket, grew a small tree, and passed through the leaves. The sound of night in the forest greeted him with insects singing. The two shattered moons glowed overhead, casting the Grove in pale light. After ascending the steps, he sat in his chair and paused. Would anyone really be awake this late at night? He doubted it, and instead worked on his report for the town.

All the energy from the outworlder adventurers was gone, replaced by temperate energy. Tomorrow would be cloudless with a pleasant temperature. There was no sign of budding dungeon energy anywhere in the Grove, and even the tower felt less intimidating.

"Pretty standard day," Rud said, finishing up his notes.

"Indeed it is," Nulsa said, appearing through the door leading outside.

"If I wasn't used to you sneaking up on me, I'd be scared," Rud said, smiling up at the owl. "Hey, do you know anything about the gem Taz found? Also what do you think about Jasper?"

"I know nothing about any gem," Nulsa said. "As for Jasper, I don't like him. But I think he's a good fit for the Grove."

Rud tapped his chin. "That's an interesting stance to take. You don't like him, but you like him as a fit for the Grove. How does that work?"

"To be fair, I don't really like anyone," Nulsa said.

"Even me?" Rud asked, making what he assumed was a cute face.

Nulsa looked away, hooting softly.

Rud finished his report up, sealing the envelope and stuffing it in his bag. "Care for a night flight?"

"Sounds delightful," Nulsa said.

Rud shifted into his raven form and took to the skies with Nulsa. They didn't pick a straight path to Barlgore, instead favoring a path to the west at first. The rush of wind over the druid's feathers served as a great way to wake him up. Cold air splashed over him as he banked. The pair tracked a path along the western side of the grove, banking south and then east. They took in the world below with their magical sight, scanning for anything out of the ordinary.

"I do this daily," Nulsa said, his voice carrying with otherworldly clarity over the rush of wind. "It is quite relaxing."

"You've been sleeping less," Rud said.

"An increase in attributes will do that."

So Rud wasn't the only one getting buff? Interesting.

The duo worked a lazy path toward the town, eventually circling above Feather's house. Rud landed, shifting into his true form before depositing his letter. At night, the town was a place the druid actually wanted to hang out. While there were a few lights still illuminating a few houses and a couple of people walking the streets, it was almost silent. If he listened hard enough, he thought he could hear the ocean far in the distance. Even if that wasn't possible.

Rud eventually shifted back into his raven form, joining Nulsa in the skies above the town. "Oh, this is just delightful," the druid said.

"Care to make another run toward the west?" Nulsa asked.

Rud stifled a yawn. "Yeah, I wanna see what those orcs are doing."

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