It wasn't every day such a powerful item was created within the Grove. And it wasn't every day that item was crafted but a dwarf. Dwarves had a way of celebrating things, especially those that were so monumental. It took Taz about five seconds from the point where Rud inspected the new hammerpick to march from the smithy with his new tool held high. He sang in the dwarven tongue, punctuating every beat of the song with a thrust high into the air.

The air within the Grove was electric. Those bound to her grace didn't need a message to get the memo. Before Rud knew it, he was second on a promenade. Taz hoisted the hammer high, and each member of the Grove chanted, "Hammer… Pick!"

"Hammer… Pick!" Ban's voice flooded through everything. The very plants themselves seemed to sing the praises of the new hammer.

"Gozokan! Balt!" Taz shouted, naming the hammerpick as the members did a circle around the tree.

"Gozokan! Balt!" everyone cheered.

Hours passed as the spirits celebrated the new item crafted by their dwarf. Rud's senses mostly came back to him, and he turned to find Elm right at the back of the march. A look of pure joy was on her face, even if she wasn't an official spirit of the Grove. One thing he was happy to see was Jasper in his elf form. He wasn't the Fabio-looking elf from before, but the scrawny bookworm. The fox spirit had been taken down a peg or two. Good.

Rud knew that Elm wasn't part of the grove. He hadn't even offered her the position of champion, but to see her mesh so well, he wondered why she was reluctant to accept a position. Of course, he had to remember she had a life outside of here. She had a mage's tower in the town and connections to magical organizations on the mainland. When the dancing had died down and the members of the grove regained their senses, he found her, and they laughed together about being drawn into the dance.

"I couldn't even control myself," Elm said, still laughing as she wiped tears from her eyes. "But that item he crafted is powerful."

"Each piece is imbued with a part of the Grove, and the handle is a living piece of Ban herself. I'd be surprised if it wasn't amazing," Rud said.

"The second effect on the item is the most interesting. It increases all the effects of his prospector class," Elm said. "I don't think I've ever seen an item that has such an impressive effect."

"Imagine just having a straight boost to all your skills," Rud said with a laugh. "I mean, my staff is pretty powerful, so I guess I can't talk."

"The power held here never ceases to amaze me…"

Rud bit the inside of his cheek. "Listen… I have a proposition," he said, looking up from the ground to see a blush spreading across Elm's cheeks. Perhaps she was simply flushed from so much dancing. "I have this new upgrade for my Custodianship skill. Champion of the Grove."

"Oh," Elm said, blinking a few times as her mind realigned to reality. "What does it do?"

"It basically makes you a member of the grove without making you a spirit," Rud explained. "Anybody who joins the fold within the grove becomes what the mortals call a spirit. They have a soul contract with the tree and are mostly confined to the grove itself, but becoming a champion would allow you to leave if you wanted. I understand if you say no, but..."

"Of course!" Elm shouted, shaking Rud by the shoulders. "Come on! I spend all of my time here. I should already have a house—with a bath and a kitchen—and maybe even a wizard's tower."

"I can make her a wizard's tower," Ban spoke into Rud's mind.

"Okay," Rud said, nodding. "Put your hands on your head and repeat after me."

Elm nodded, looking serious all of the sudden. She placed both of her hands on her head, her eyes narrowing in focus.

"I promise to be a very good elf," Rud said, and Elm repeated. "I love animals and trees. I wish my hair was as pretty as Rud's."

Elm didn't repeat the last part, shaking her head as she removed her hands from her head. "Come on, druid. Just use the upgrade."

Rud only offered a smile. It took only the faintest of wills to use the upgrade. He felt power soaking in from the grove, pooling just beneath Elm's feet as it absorbed into her. She glowed with a faint green shimmer, and her eyes blazed with power. Her eyes had been a light shade of brown to match her hair. When the glittering power subsided, they were revealed to be a bright shade of green. Behind them was the same peerless sense he experienced when gazing upon her, but a new level of confidence radiated outward, and the grove responded with a shimmer of energy.

"Welcome to Gladesbale Grove, champion," Ban said.

Elm jumped as Ban spoke to both her and Rud. She looked around, an expression of confusion and bewilderment on her face. "Is that what she sounds like?" she asked. "I didn't know a tree could sound so pretty."

Ban giggled into their minds. "I appreciate the compliment. Where is it you would like your Wizard's Tower, Champion of Gladesville Grove?"

"I have a choice?" Elm asked nervously.

"Come on," Rud said, grabbing her by the hand and leading her to the nearest bush. "I'll show you some places you can pick from."

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Elm let out a yelp as they dove headfirst into the bush. Rud dragged her along through the thicket, and a moment later, they appeared in the northeastern section of the grove, just on the edge of an expansive lake. To the north were the dwarven mountains, and not much else. It was peaceful.

"That was Thicket Travel, an upgrade you can use freely," Rud said. "Just jump into the nearest bush and think about a location. You'll arrive instantly."

"I can feel the power of the Grove racing through me," Elm said, looking down at her hands. She almost didn't seem to care about the vista before her.

"Powerful stuff, huh?"

"No kidding. But the energy isn't druidic," Elm said, still studying her hands. "This is raw power. The thing that exists before our bodies process mana."

"That's right," Ban said. "The Grove is thick with it. If you learn, you can tap into it."

"Wait, I want some of that power," Rud said, folding his arms.

"You already use it," Ban said. "Your body is so soaked with this power that leaving the Grove weakens you. Unless you haven't noticed…"

"Oh, yeah. I totally noticed," Rud said, not willing to admit he thought he just got sleepy when he was too far away. He understood enough about the way the Grove worked to know he needed to stay within. "What do you think about this spot? Nice big lake fed from a river. The river comes from the dwarven mountains, so the water is fresh. I think we have a few fish in the lake."

"This is perfect," Elm said.

No sooner than Elm said it, that a tree sprang from the nearby rocky shore of the lake. It grew into a rough shape, with roots forming what would eventually become a tower. Rud could sense the amount of power Ban was putting into this one. She wanted it to be magnificent. It would be quite tall.

"Now that we got all the good news out of the way, I've got some bad news," Rud said. "Your sister is likely gonna show up."

Elm shrugged. "She'll find I'm much different from when we were adventuring. We never really got along, but some distance has shown me the problem."

"What's the problem?"

"I can take her in small doses. Just not every single day."

"Fair enough."

Elm had some information to share about the dungeons. They had made great progress on getting the barriers broken on a few dungeons, but that would take a while. Instead, she had shifted her focus back to the underground city. Since that's where the source of all these problems took place, it only made the most sense. Seeing as Rud needed one of those fancy crystals, he was behind Elm and Jasper dispelling the various wards and traps placed within the city.

As Elm marveled at the growing tower before her, it gave Rud time to think about all his projects. He had to take care of the crystal situation first, but then he also needed to create the path to the north so he could establish his outpost. For once, it wasn't a terribly long list of things he had to do, and he appreciated the lighter workload. Once the elf had seen enough of her new tower, which would take quite some time to grow, he showed her how to use Thicket Travel to move down into the underground city.

In an instant, Rud appeared in a bush he had planted underground. He waited only a breath before Elm came following behind him.

"Yeah, this is a lot better than the stairs."

"Always make sure you have a bush nearby," Rud warned.

"Does a potted plant count? Can I carry a topiary in my storage?" Elm asked.

Rud scratched his chin. "Maybe."

"Testing is required," Elm said, pointing a finger in the air. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, why are we here?"

"I need some fancy magical crystals so the other groves can make an observatory," Rud said. "So, I guess I'm here to ask you if you need any help down here."

"I'm fairly certain the crystal you're looking for can be sourced from the giant one stuck in the ceiling," Elm said, pointing upward. "So once we have a safe way to excavate that, you're golden."

"What's keeping us from chipping off a piece?"

"That thing is tied in with the ambient magic," Elm said. "Which means it also draws from the various lingering magics in the air. Once we remove that magic, it'll be mostly safe to chip off a bit. Hold on… can I summon Jasper?"

"Yeah, just think about talking to him and you can speak into his mind."

Elm pinched her eyes closed, concentrating. A moment later, her eyes snapped open and darted to the bush. Jasper came through in his fox form, his tail flicking around.

"I suppose I don't need to use magic for you to understand me now," Jasper said with a laugh. "That should make things easier."

"I can also understand the other spirits, right?" Elm asked.

"For better or worse," Rud grumbled. "Anyway, can I help?"

"Yes, I think so," Jasper said, sauntering toward the spire. "We're ready to break the main seal on the tower. Since we've already gone through about twenty layers, you'd think the last few would be easy. But you'd be wrong. The last one is the worst."

"If we use Ban's siphoning power, we can drain a lot of the excess energy away," Elm said. "Then we can take a chunk of the crystal."

"Hey, just tell me where you need me."

The group ascended the tower, finding their way to the top floor with ease. Thanks to the roots Rud had already pulled down here, the task he was given was easy enough. He pulled those roots down, creating walkways that hung from the roof of the cave. It gave them access to the crystal. He wrapped both the crystal and the tower itself in roots before returning to the top floor.

"Yes, the siphoning is going well," Jasper said, now in his fox form. "Can you see how the magical field is weakening."

"Indeed," Elm said. "Are we ready to shatter it?"

"Let's just give it a crack first, okay?" Jasper said. "Wouldn't want to… you know. Cascade and all that."

"Have you been reading?" Elm asked, a broad smile spreading across her face.

"You hurt my pride, elf," Jasper said, his tail poofing out.

Elm laughed. "Well, let's crack this thing so Rud finally has the fancy crystal he wants."

"Right. On my mark…"

Rud watched as the pair of them did some magical stuff. There were words, sigils, channeling, and other things. The arcane magic they used to put a crack in the array was so far beyond him that they could've been dancing in circles and he would believe it was the right method. But when the ground shifted under his feet, the entire underground city rumbling, he knew they had done something.

"Ah. That's what they call a 'bad outcome' in the academies, right?" Jasper asked.

"Rud!" Elm shouted.

Whatever else she wanted to say to him was cut off by the sound of the cavern collapsing.

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