Gladesbale Grove Book 3 - Chapters 49,50,51

Chapter 49

Caw!

Rud dove in his raven form, following the unmistakable trail of magic that wafted through the Grove. He pulled out of the dive, beating his wings hard until he had enough height to get a better view of the forest down below. The familiar presence of Nulsa soon came alongside him, the powerful beats of the beast’s wings inaudible.

“I’d ask what that was, but I already know,” Nulsa said, joining Rud as he ascended higher. “Do you know what Ban was thinking?”

“She wanted to jump to Rank 5, I guess,” Rud said.

Nulsa hooted softly. “Not that her true rank can be gleaned by the system. I already sent Jasper, Mint, and Dean ahead to the most powerful of the explosions. Sarya is clearing the area, just in case some adventurers were too close. I don’t think the fire has spread far.”

“Good to know,” Rud said.

From above, Rud finally got his first look at the damage caused by the explosion. The force had been so great, a massive crater remained, creating a scar in the forest. Small fires were scattered around the outside, but within was a thirty-foot deep crater with jagged edges. He couldn’t even guess how wide it was, but the amount of trees that had been destroyed was impossible to calculate.

“That’s not good,” Nulsa rumbled as they banked to one side. “There are at least two more after this.”

“Three more,” Rud corrected. “Ban ran too much energy through these clusters.”

“Whatever the case, we need to get those fires under control. This area to the west is really wet, but those older trees on the outside are really catching fire,” Nulsa said. “I’m afraid there’s little I can do to help.”

The duo circled above the crater, and Rud’s mind whirled. The job below him was monumental. And there were three more of these. Stretching his mind as wide as it would go, the druid fell into the Grove. A part of him became a part of it. He felt the rolling hills and roots running deep. He felt the animals, plants, and energies running through it. And he felt the fires raging in the west, near the logging camp. A few too many pines, perhaps, but there was no way he could contain this thing on his own.

Even with Elm, it might spread further than he could contend with.

“Got a mission for you,” Rud said, a few beats of his wings bringing him close to the owl. “Send someone to fetch Elm. Then head to the southwest and gather every adventurer you can. Maybe we have to do this old school with buckets of dirt and whatever else.”

“I catch your meaning,” Nulsa said. “Worry not. I’ll send Jasper to round up the adventurers and so on.”

The owl dipped, heading down to the ground. Somewhere below were the other spirits, waiting for orders. Rud didn’t know a thing about stopping wildfires. But that wouldn’t stop him from doing his best, so he dove into the nearest bush and arrived at a sight. The sky was tinged orange. Dark smoke rose high, choking the druid right away. He avoided it the best he could, coming low and focusing hard.

“Hope I was paying attention to Elm,” Rud said, pulling on everything he had learned about mana manipulation.

Controlling the raging fire was like tossing some twine over the neck of Dean while he was sprinting. Rud wrapped his willpower around it, tamping the energy down best as he could. Doing it while in his raven form didn’t seem to impede his abilities, but the fires still fought back. Against Elm’s instructions, he poured mana into the effort. It wasn’t perfect, but it was working. He brute forced the inferno, tamping sections down.

But it only did so much.

The fire spread from an area northwest of the logging camp, until it came to that clearing and stopped. The entire time, Rud expected the Sacred Tree to be screaming in pain. But she wasn’t. Each tree that fell created beds of coals and ash that made her sing. Nutrients, maybe? Perhaps there was some value in burning away some of the forest after all… Still, it couldn’t be allowed to spread that far.

“I’m struggling here,” Rud said to Ban. “I don’t have enough power.”

“You’re doing great, considering the circumstances. Focus on containing the fire spreading toward the center,” Ban said. “The others are having better luck. The west is wet. Perhaps turn your attention skyward.”

“You want me to make a storm?” Rud asked. “Seems outside my ability.”

“Draw on my power,” Ban said.

Although it wasn’t as easy as tapping into the Grove to magically summon a storm, that was his best bet. The one thing he had going for him was the collection of storm-based magic hanging above the Grove. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be enough to kick off any rain. But with some serious encouragement for a determined druid and something might happen. He would consider the problem of having such a large area to soak later.

Rud gave up on tamping down the fire and beat his wings, shooting upward until he mingled with the faint energies high in the sky. The air was thinner, and he leaned on his high Vigor to get through. Storm energy was weird. The druid thought of it as a combination of different kinds of energies. There was fire energy, water energy, wind energy, and so on. When wind got together with water, sometimes it made storm energy.

The amount of energy here wasn’t enough to seed a storm, though. That’s where Rud came in.

“Okay, here goes nothing.”

The druid prepared himself for something he hadn’t done before. Instead of connecting to existing energies, he reached inside himself and withdrew raw mana from his chest. Before it left his body, he convinced it to become something else. Sometimes wind energy, sometimes water energy. The first few attempts resulted in raw mana falling from his feet, dripping down and dispersing through the air. He closed his eyes, doing circles as he focused harder.

“Come on, mana,” Rud growled, cawing a few times for good measure. “Turn into energy, ya stubborn jerk.”

After draining his mana a few times, a cloud of energy flowed forth from the raven’s body. It soaked into the air, mingling with the existing energy. Where water and wind met, they morphed into storm energy. After a few exhausting hours, the sky darkened. Rud did another pass, just to be sure, and the rain fell. He descended, landing in the logging camp before collapsing to the ground in his true form.

“Hells!” a familiar voice called from afar.

Rud heard the sound of many footfalls. In his exhaustion, he looked up to spot the familiar fuzzy ears of Mira. He gave her the thumbs up, rolling over in the mud and gasping for breath.

“We dug some trenches, great spirit. Stopped the fire from spreading south, but the forest is too dense,” Mira said, kneeling in the mud. Of course, she kept her distance from him. All that respect for spirits and whatever. “Thank the spirits for this storm.”

“Yeah,” Rud said, winking. He tried to wink, anyway. Instead, he simply blinked a few times, clearing some of the mud out of his vision. “I’m just taking a break here, but I’ll summon another storm here in a minute.”

“You’re the one that summoned this storm? Impressive,” Mira said, looking back to the large group of loggers. She winced. “Is the forest going to be okay? Will it recover?”

“Oh, that’s the easy part,” Rud said, mostly lying. “I’ll have that part done in a few hours.”

“That’s great news!”

The other loggers had some concerns, and were quick to voice them to Rud. While the druid did his best to answer those questions, he was truly exhausted. During his flight, he had lost count of the amount of times he expended all his mana. It left him feeling as though he had nothing more to give, but that’s exactly what he needed to do. With a few quick slaps to the face, he was back in his raven form.

“CAW!” Rud shouted, jumping into the air and completely incomprehensible to the mortals.

“I’ve got everyone assembled, boss,” Jasper spoke into Rud’s mind. “Those mortals are pretty helpful. Especially the magical ones. Guess we got lucky with that storm on your end.”

“Very lucky,” Rud said, battling against the extreme winds of the storm. If anything, it was only intensifying. Rain fell in thick bands on the forest below, dousing the still-hot ground to extinguish the many fires. He fed the storm a bit more, only departing once he was content with its longevity. Then the druid traveled westward.

The mortals didn’t have as many mages as he had expected, but that didn’t stop them from helping. The spirits had organized them into groups and buckets filled with water and dirt were flying. Fortunately, the three fires in the west were close enough together where a storm would take care of them all. Chatter came from the other spirits, but he focused only on creating a new storm. Dusk had fallen by the time he coaxed enough storm energies to form into a powerful downpour.

With that sorted, Rud landed and planted face-first in the mud yet again.

“Tuckered out?” Mint asked, taking a seat nearby the downed druid.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Rud sighed, hearing another set of feet padding over.

“Did you pay attention to my lessons?” Elm asked with a sharp laugh. The rain almost drowned out the sound of her laughing. “Well, those are some impressive storms you conjured. You could make some serious money summoning rain for farmers on the mainland.”

“That’s my retirement plan,” Rud laughed.

“You’re going to retire?” Mint asked “Nonsense, when I stole your soul you signed a lifetime contract.”

“Just a turn of phrase, Mint.” Rud sighed. He wasn’t sure if he was getting used to the smell of mud, or the feeling of it pressed against his face, but he was pretty comfy on the ground. “Did it work?”

“Mostly. A lot of the Grove was destroyed, though,” Elm said. “I only got bits of the story, though. Did I understand correctly? Ban caused the explosions?”

“She was consuming a lot of random energy she had stored in the trees,” Rud explained. “I guess she was confident nothing bad would happen.”

“She trusted that you could fix whatever happened.” 

The correction from Elm wasn’t unwarranted. Rud suspected the Sacred Tree was holding back for his sake. But he was reaching a point in his career where he couldn’t hold back. While he didn’t expect his comfortable life to change much, he would need to push himself harder. There would still be tea parties, and the occasional impromptu cooking session. It was just that his potential for strength was so high.

Rud couldn’t have guessed he could do what he did. Because he needed to, he controlled and created storm energy. He had created a storm, bending the elements to his will to solve a problem. He had done so because he absolutely needed it to happen. Perhaps there was more he could do based on this idea.

Whatever moments of relaxation Rud could enjoy, he took them. Rain poured from overhead, soaking everything including the druid. Elm and Mint hung around while he was chilling out and everything was great forever. Until Nulsa landed near the group, hooting with a concerned tone.

“Excellent work, Rud,” he said, disguising his true intent with pleasantries. “Unfortunately, we have a problem.”

“Cool. Did a giant rock fall on the Grove?” Rud asked.

“Nothing so strange,” Nulsa said. “No, that would be too easy. The two storms you have summoned are fighting.”

“How can storms fight?” Rud asked.

“Although I’m unsure of the specific term, it would be wise to withdraw the adventurers before it’s too late,” Nulsa said.

Rud cracked his fingers, pushing himself to his feet. “Let’s do it,” he said, stretching out his back. “Might as well just be a night of problems.”

Chapter 50

Kiara

“Move along, folks!” Billy shouted. Despite the devil’s appearance, the adventurers obeyed his commands, rushing over the roads and toward cover away from the gale.

The correct term Nulsa had been looking for was a hurricane. Rud wasn’t certain of the physics, but creating two storms so close to each other and infusing them with so much magical power had resulted in a massive hurricane that lingered over the grove. Now, the fires weren’t a problem at all. The amount of water that fell from the sky created small rivers that rushed along the raised roads and threatened to wash everything away. The adventurers moved in huddled groups, ushered along by the spirits and guided by living light posts that showed the way.

“It could have gone better,” Ban admitted.

“And it could’ve gone worse,” Rud said. “The fires were more of a threat. We can wait out a storm. No problem. I’m used to these.”

“Any suggestions you want to share with the class?” Ban asked.

“You hide from wind, and run from water. We’re getting everyone to the center so they can hunker down. Then, we wait it out.”

The worst thing about enduring the wrath of a hurricane was dealing with the power outages. That was a problem back on Earth. In this world, Rud expected there to be no such problems. As long as they had a safe place to exist, everything would blow over quickly enough, but he had to get every single adventurer somewhere safe. The area they were working to control the fires was a lowland region that would do little to shield them from either the floods or the rain. They had to get to the center.

Along the way, the druid ran into Elm, who was taking her position as the champion of the grove seriously. She had conjured an illusion that hung high in the air, pointing in the direction they should go. Sarya was there with her, taking count of heads, while the other members of the grove searched for stragglers.

Rud’s cloak barely kept the weather out, serving to partially shield him from the rain, but it still soaked through. He was dirty from falling in the mud so many times and would need to take a long, hot bath after this. For now, he focused. Controlling the hurricane above was out of the question. He simply put his head down and helped with the effort. It took hours. They worked late into the night. There were still a few people who hadn’t received the message to flee the impact of the slow-moving storm, but eventually, they all piled into the longhouse. 

The building creaked and groaned as they all huddled around the fire. Despite the warmth of the wind that drove the storm, the rain still soaked everyone through, causing them to shiver and cuddle for warmth. Fueled by fairy peat, a roaring fire burned in the fireplace. Taz darted around with Billy, serving everyone tea and food where he could. But the longhouse was now a crowded place, with barely much room for standing let alone lounging around.

“Some help with this, Rud?” Taz grumbled, pushing his way through the thick crowd.

Rud eyed the door to the longhouse suspiciously, gritting his teeth as he considered going back inside. With a heavy sigh, he pushed through his apprehension and stepped out into the deafening wind and the relentless sideways rain. He looked up at the sky and wondered exactly how long the storm would remain over them. The energies were too turbulent for him to even hope to control. He had to keep reminding himself to simply endure.

“I guess it’s about time this building got an upgrade,” Rud said to himself, hands on his hips as he assessed the longhouse. He had built it when his plant magic was in its infancy. Now he could feel the living material that made the building clearly. He could see what it could become without much effort and got to work expanding it. Of course, he did so without disturbing the current structure; otherwise, the adventurers inside would get soaked. He expanded it on all sides, planting and growing new trees in the rain. He shaped those trees to become the living extensions of the fabled longhouse.

“You’re a tenacious little one, aren’t you?” Ban asked, her voice echoing through the central clearing.

Rud couldn’t help but look up and see her branches swaying. They now consumed far more of the sky than before, casting the shadow over quite a few trees. She was also taller, reaching high into the sky as though attempting to grasp the sun itself. He was certain she would curl her branches around that source of energy if only she could reach it.

“Got a bunch of wet adventurers,” Rud retorted, tapping the tip of his artifact staff, which was glowing a brilliant shade of green. “We can’t just leave them out in the rain. They’re our responsibility.”

Billy exited the longhouse, fighting against the door as the wind pressed against it. He found a stick and dug it into the ground as he moved toward the druid. “Need any help?” he shouted over the roaring sound of the wind. He was barely holding on.

“You should head back inside before you blow away,” Rud said, staring in amusement as the devil barely kept his ground. In comparison, the druid had almost no problem standing where he was. When he had time to go and absorb more dungeons, he knew that he would grow even stronger. Even this gale would feel like nothing.

“Nonsense,” Billy said, slipping and falling face first into a slick of mud. He cleared his face, then stood, shaking his limbs out and grasping his stick once again. “I’m more than capable of helping.”

Unless Billy spontaneously developed druidic powers, Rud doubted that was the case. But perhaps there was a mortal way he could help. “Check the buildings in the clearing. “Ensure all the doors are closed, and check for flooding… if you can.”

“Right away!” Billy shouted, grunting as he worked against the force of the storm.

Rud sighed. “Major, can you come help the devil? He’s going to get himself killed.”

Only a few moments later, the bear came out the door of the longhouse. Shouts from within complained that the heat was escaping, but Rud knew they would soon want it cooler once they had dried off. They would get too warm. Major nodded at the druid before coming alongside Billy. The devil grabbed his fur, and they plotted their way to the few buildings that were in the central area of the grove.

Rud finished the roof of the extension and connected everything together. Shouts of surprise rose from within the longhouse as the roof realigned itself, providing perfect cover for those inside. The tendril-like branches that made up the walls sank into the ground, and the druid went alongside the building, using his Lacquer spell to seal it all away. He entered to find the floor he had constructed already in use by the mortals. He shooed them away as he applied his heartening spell there, too. The footprint of the longhouse had more than doubled, providing plenty of space for everyone.

“Attention!” Rud shouted, drawing a line on one of the walls and punching it. Instead of revealing the storm outside, it showcased the secondary attachment he had made. “Here are some simple rooms for you to stay in and sleep if you need somewhere quieter. Otherwise, everybody’s going to be sleeping on the floor tonight. I hope that’s not too much of a problem.” 

“None at all,” Barrow said, finding himself at the front of the gaggle. “A freak storm like that… Who could’ve guessed? Thanks for the save, spirit.”

He didn’t need to know that it was by Rud’s hand that the storm was there. The only important thing was that, according to the headcount, everybody was safe and relatively dry. More than all that, they were sheltered from the storm, which meant he had to go back into it. Monitoring those energies was of vital importance, so he reached out to Nulsa, whom he found in the observatory. He found the nearest bush and approached the foot of the structure. He accepted the aspect and headed to the top.

The Observatory swayed from side to side, wind blasting through the open windows. With a flare of power, Rud sealed the windows with thick branches and enjoyed the silence. It was broken only by the hiss of the radio, which he flicked on and dialed to his channel.

“Gladesbale to anyone,” Rud said.

“Kiara here,” a voice came back after a few moments of static. “Do we normally use these things this early in the morning?”

Rud clicked his tongue. Different time zones…

“Sometimes. But right now, it’s about midnight where I’m at,” Rud said. “I’ve got a nasty hurricane over my Grove.”

“How exciting…”

Kiara needed some therapy or something, so Rud abandoned the idea of communicating meaningfully with her. Instead, he chatted while using his Farseeing skill to observe the hurricane. Nulsa hopped into the building, preening himself to remove thick water droplets.

“How are things going out there?” Rud asked. “I don’t suppose you can fly while the hurricane is active, can you?”

“Even a sacred beast with as much power as I have can’t fly out there. No, so that’s confirmed. It’s best if we stay here. From what I can tell, it’s moving slowly to the northeast.”

Although Rud didn’t have the full picture, he would agree with the owl’s assessment of the situation. It wasn’t as though he had a weather radar or any fancy machines from back on Earth. But he could see the energies of the storm rolling in that direction.

“Is there such a thing as a storm wizard?” Rud asked.

“Not within the Grove,” Nulsa said.

Their conversation was interrupted by Kiara. Rud forced himself not to be mad, engaging with the woman to get her more interested in this collective.

“So, where are you from?” Rud asked.

“Venice.”

“Oh! You don’t sound Italian…”

“Venice, Florida,” Kiara corrected. “Gosh, I wish I was from Italy…”

Rud didn’t really want to question it, but he had to have a word with Ban to see why every custodian was from Florida. He didn’t even like the state and had been forced to Miami by circumstances beyond his control. Perhaps the same could be said of all Floridians. The druid was much more comfortable in the Pacific Northwest. He loved the gloomy skies and bitter cold. Sunshine and rainbows didn’t sit well with him.

Although Kiara sat on the line for quite some time, she eventually had things to tend to in her own grove. Even if it was a lonely existence for her, there were still chores, the same as any custodian. Rud and Nulsa watched the storm, tracking its ponderous progress, each nodding off occasionally. The concerning thing was that the energies within weren’t dissipating. The druid had infused his two storms with too much power, and they were now feeding off each other.

To both of their surprise, eventually, Elm found her way to the observatory. Rud thought she had fallen asleep, but there she was, drenched and standing at the top of the stairs with a concerned look on her face. He knew, before she even spoke, that she had detected the same thing.

“Well, this is troubling,” Elm said, brushing what water she could from herself before approaching Rud. “I’m not good at storm magic. And this storm isn’t moving.”

“The intensity is staying the same. At least we have that,” Rud countered.

“Yet I am bound to the ground,” Nulsa said with a dramatic sigh. “What a life to live.”

“Right, an owl who can’t fly for a few hours,” Rud said dramatically. “What a tragedy!”

Nulsa glared. “The next time you shift into squirrel form, I’m eating you.”

Chapter 51

Cow Trapped

By the time dawn broke, it was clear the storm was going nowhere. The only indication that the day had arrived was the faint glow over the eastern horizon, but it was barely noticeable. The grove was still shrouded in darkness, the wind still howled outside, and worst of all, rain drove down in a torrent. Rud’s concern now was not for the mortals, but for the animals he cared for. He rounded up the one Sacred Beast he trusted to check on those animals and met him outside the longhouse. 

Of course, Billy was there too.

“Just stick close,” Rud shouted over the howling wind. “The cows should be in the barn, but I’ll be honest, they’re idiotic because they used to be squirrels.”

“And for some reason, that makes sense,” Billy shot back. “Lead the way.”

Arriving at the massive paddock Rud had created for the squirrel-cows, they were treated to a sight. A vast river had formed, cutting through the enclosure and breaking the fence that had once contained the creatures. Dean rushed ahead to do a head count of the cattle while Rud and Billy went to round up the goats. The goats had apparently been smart enough to take shelter, and the druid was happy to seal them in the barn only after checking their stock of food and water.

Of course, there were no cows nearby, so Rud joined Dean in searching for them. The cows were obstinate about obeying commands, but with the Clear Communication and Understanding upgrades, he convinced them to proceed to safety. After the promise of hazelnuts, of course.

“We’re missing two,” Dean said, sniffing at the air. “I cannot locate them.”

Rud smiled to himself. He closed his eyes, taking a breath before drawing on the Animal Tracking upgrade tied to the nearby barn. He got a sense for where the critters were, and gestured once to the north, and once south.

“I think they broke containment,” Rud said. “You go for the northern one, Dean.”

“On it.” The wolf growled, bounding away without another word.

Although Rud was tempted to use Thicket Travel and teleport to arrive near the cow he was searching for, he hesitated. Through the grove’s expansive senses, he felt something on the other side that was unpleasant. He decided against it. Instead, he forged a path through the storm. Billy followed close behind, still using his stick to steady himself and moving with much more ease through the dense forest. Here and there, trees had fallen, or large branches barred their way. They found, on the southern side of the paddock, a spot where a particularly large branch had fallen, taking out the fence and allowing the cow to escape.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this,” Billy said, vaulting over the fence with ease and pressing onward. “Do you think a god has taken notice of me?”

“Maybe. Do you feel any different?” Rud asked. “Taz got the attention of one god for doing some repentance, and he said he could feel it long before the system message arrived.”

“Now that’s hard to say,” Billy said with a shrug. He nearly tripped over a cluster of roots as they pressed forward. “I was trapped in that object for so long it’s hard to tell which senses are real and which are just in my head. But it seems as though a light has settled in my chest. It feels warm and fuzzy, like cuddling a Gulpherzag.” 

“Do I want to know what that is?”

“It looks like a goat mixed with a lizard,” Billy said. “Common pets among demons and devils alike.”

“What’s the difference?” Rud asked.

“Between demons and devils? Well, that’s a matter of rank and intelligence. Demons are the low-ranking members of hellish society, while devils are the leaders. I thought everyone knew this.”

Rud barely knew a thing about how the humans of this world worked. There was no way he would understand demon society, but he decided to take it at face value, understanding that this meant Billy was high on the food chain. He was certain that the devil had turned over a new leaf. He had already been incredibly helpful during this crisis, and there was nothing to say he would stop anytime soon.

“I’m guessing life among the demons wasn’t all tea parties and hurricane adventures,” Rud said.

“No, we mostly conduct war and kill each other. You know, just demon things,” Billy said. “But I have to admit, when I attempted to travel through the space between spaces, it was done in an attempt to find something else. I’m not saying I was ready to give up the devil life back then, but once I was trapped, it gave me a lot of time to reflect. And well, here we are, trudging through a storm to rescue a cow. Ha, I could have never thought of that in my previous life.”

“I know what you mean,” Rud said. “I also had a previous life, but it wasn’t one of war. It was one of drudgery.”

“Please. Go on.”

Billy was the least likely member of the Grove Rud had expected to open up to in this way, but they were both interested in their previous lives. He told the story of how he had moved for a job and settled in. Back then, he had promised himself it was only for a few years, but that went on and on until it was the only thing he knew. Billy also had a similar story, which was quite strange. His circumstances were vastly different, of course. He was a commander in some demon army, but the way war waged eternal in that realm was daunting, and he eventually grew tired of it.

“At least you made the choice to leave,” Rud said, “When Mint came to collect me, it wasn’t a choice. She just picked me.”

“That’s an option?” Billy asked, nearly falling over some more roots. But he pressed on, showing some of that tenacity Gladesbale had become known for. “How can a guardian travel the planes?”

“I think she did more than just move to another plane,” Rud said. “No idea how the cosmos works here, but she went to another part of the galaxy, or an alternate universe. The Groves have a deal with the gods that let them go elsewhere to collect custodians. I’m pretty sure Bent put a lot into me, which brings all kinds of mixed emotions.”

“As the days roll on, I grow more fascinated with the place I find myself,” Billy said, taking Rud’s hand as he helped him over a small stream. “Thank you, kind sir.”

The sound of a mournful moo rose above the raging storm. Rud narrowed his eyes, giving up on detecting where the cow could be by sight and activating his Detect Animals spell. It was something he barely used, but he was happy to have it. The moment he activated it, he saw the glowing shape of the cow in the distance. It was at an odd angle, so he couldn’t tell exactly what was going on.

“She’s up ahead,” Rud said, pointing as they clambered over yet another downed tree. Billy took the lead, clearing away the branches to provide them with a better passage. He turned back, giving the druid a thumbs-up and smiling like an idiot.

As they drew closer, Rud could hear the cries of the cow more clearly, and he could make them out. She was screaming for help and thrashing against something. They crossed over the last hill and saw the black-and-white spotted cow fighting for its life. Amid a raging river, she was at the bottom of a small gorge, wedged between two errant branches.

“We’re going to get you out of there!” Rud shouted, clambering down the side of a sheer cliff face and watching as Billy observed helplessly above. He didn’t have the attributes to climb down, so the druid wove him a path out of branches and then assessed the situation with the cow.

“Please,” the cow shouted. “Get me out of here. I promise I won’t leave the paddock again. I won’t even ask you for hazelnuts. Just get me out of here!”

“That’s the plan,” Rud grumbled to himself, ensuring Billy had gotten down the cliff successfully before weaving his plant magic. Roots crawled from nearby trees, snaking down into the river to create a platform underneath her. He didn’t think he could dam the river and extract her. Instead, he planned to lift her out.

“What do you need me to do?” Billy asked, looking around in a panic.

Truth was, there wasn’t much that Billy could do. But as Rud observed the cow in the river, he figured she would be gravely injured and require healing when he finally got her out. “When I scoop her out, check her for injuries and let me know what you see. I’ll need to cast a few healing spells, but it’s going to be tricky to extract her so hang tight.”

Billy offered a solemn nod and then assumed a crouched stance, as though he was ready to spring into action at any moment. Rud cracked his knuckles and made a plan. He needed to move the branches and lift her at the same time. The tip of his staff glowed green as he made his preparations. More roots came in, wrapping around the loose wood and giving it tentative tugs to check its strength. Only when everything was in position did he execute his plan. The roots pulled outward, and the platform lifted up at the same time. The cow issued a concerned moo as she was hoisted high into the air. She slipped to one side, almost tumbling down below, but was caught by a wrap of powerful vines.

Billy released a shrill shout. First of fear, then of excitement.

“Big cut on her side!” Billy shouted. “Broken leg, maybe!”

Rud tuned him out as he wrangled the massive beast, pulling the squirrel-cow to the bank and releasing her for now.

“Praise be to you and your kin!” the cow mooed. “I shall name my firstborn after you.”

“Let’s wait until we get you out of here before any of that happens,” Rud said, checking her over. Of course, the cow wasn’t having a good time. She thrashed, fighting against his ministrations as he attempted to heal her. There was an old trick for this, of course. He cast Nature’s Cleanse, putting her to sleep right away. More than likely, she had some sort of parasite or disease lingering within her, so it was good to cast the purging spell. The cow snored loudly as he looked her over.

“She’s alive, right?” Billy asked.

“Yeah, she’s fine,” Rud confirmed. “We’ll hoist her out of this gully with some roots, but I’m going to cast Nature’s Restoration a few times before that. You’re right about the leg, it’s bashed up pretty bad. She’s lucky she didn’t drown.”

Once the cow was healed, Rud lifted her out of the area up the cliff and fashioned a kind of sled he could use to drag her. Of course, it would take him forever to get her back because he had to find new routes to grab onto the sled and pull her along. Fortunately, Dean showed up soon after, having wrangled his own cow. Then it was simply a matter of clearing the way so that Dean could drag her. They eventually made their way back to the barn and secured the sleeping cow with the others. They all mooed with excitement upon seeing her.

Rud stood with Billy, appreciating their good work and double-checking that the cows had enough food and water to last them through the night. The devil turned to the druid and smiled.

“I think I felt something,” he said. “While we were down at that river, I felt the light of something touching me. You said I would know it when I felt it, and I think I do.”

“Look at you,” Rud said, gazing up at the tall demon-dude. “What do you think about taking part in the mortal class system?”

Billy looked over at the cows, his smile widening. “I think I’m gonna use my powers to benefit all of cow-kind.”

Rud slapped himself in the face.