Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO ON KINDLE SEPT. 2)

For the first time in weeks, Elijah watched the sun peek through the grove’s canopy. Even through the localized rainstorm he’d summoned, he could see dust and pollen dancing in the beams of light. In the distance, children raced around the ancestral tree, playing a game of tag that left them giggling at their successes and failures.

Nerthus remained nearby, watching and waiting to step in and mend any damage they happened to inflict upon their surroundings. But he didn’t stop them. To a Druid – or anyone with a significant nature attunement – the grove was a sacred place. However, it was not one meant to be worshipped from afar. It was a living work of art that needed to be experienced. That needed to host life in all its facets.

And that included frolicking children just as much as curious squirrels, slithering snakes, or creeping vines.

Despite the sense of melancholy that followed in the wake of his conversation with Carmen, Elijah felt a smile creep across his face. And he just watched, content to act as a witness to the budding community that had grown in his absence.

But soon enough, Elijah rose and took care of the necessities of his own life. He ate. He drank. He showered. And when he’d finished, he felt like a new man. More importantly, he felt ready to complete the project he’d begun as a distraction from his despondency.

He’d not overcome his depression. A simple conversation couldn’t do that anymore than shedding a few leaves could permanently rid him of trauma. If he didn’t work on the source, it would always come back. But it was a step in the right direction, and an important one at that.

So, when he settled down to complete the project, he did so with a sense of creative joy rather than rote obsession.

The staff was just as he’d left it. Not quite a blank slate, but rather, something akin to the frame of a house. The bones were there. He just needed to layer other materials for it to fully take shape.

In any case, Elijah’s first step was to inspect his previous work. He started with the shaft, going over the many details with a fine-toothed comb. Doing so revealed a few mistakes, which he corrected with a liberal application of file work. That kind of perfectionism didn’t come easily or without a significant time investment, but Elijah was more than capable of maintaining the necessary focus to get it done. Still, it took him an entire two days before he was satisfied.

Next, he moved on to the runes he’d grown within the wood.

Thankfully, he found only a couple of mistakes there, which he corrected via copious use of Nature’s Design.

And finally, he checked the Keystone. The microscopic pathways he’d cut through the stone were exactly as he’d left them, which meant they were perfect for his purposes.

But now came the moment of truth. The part that would bind everything together into a unified whole. If he failed, then all his effort would have been wasted. The shaft would remain usable, but the Keystone itself would be ruined.

And as its name suggested, it was the key to the whole plan.

Elijah took a deep breath. Then, once his mind was clear, he resummoned Blessing of the Grove. He embraced Soul of the Wild. And finally, he used Nature’s Design.

The bacteria within the shaft leaped to his command, though Elijah restrained the tiny organisms. He couldn’t allow them to grow too quickly. Instead, he kept them contained and restricted. And one by one, he extended the bacteria up and into the channels he’d carved into the Keystone.

The process was not complicated. He’d already done the most difficult part by carving those runes into the interior of the gem. However, that wasn’t to say that he had it easy. The bacteria wanted to grow. To expand. To engulf the crystal in a way that only it could.

Elijah refused to allow it.

He instilled control, both from within and without. He kept it from acting according to its nature while changing the pattern of its rudimentary instincts. He’d done it all before, but on Druhmor, his efforts were much broader. It was like creating a sketch versus painting a realistic masterpiece.

Once again, Elijah lost track of time, but not because he was trying to isolate himself from the realities associated with his return. Not completely, at least. Instead, he plunged into the project because that was the sort of focus it demanded. One little slip, and his efforts would be ruined.

So, Elijah didn’t slip.

As hours passed into days, and days became weeks, his concentration never wavered. Not until, at last, he completed that part of the project.

When he finally allowed himself to see it through his eyes, rather than the perception granted by Soul of the Wild, he found himself incapable of containing a gasp of mingled awe, relief, and satisfaction.

The gem was beautiful.

It had merged with the wood, and so completely that they seemed like they’d always been part of the same whole. The bulk of the gem remained crystal clear – like modern glass – but within it was a colony of bacteria that had been grown into green runes that glowed with subtle power.

To most, the design would be incomprehensible. Beautiful, assuredly, but too complex to understand. But any Runecrafter would have looked upon it with awe. Not because of the runes themselves. Those were basic enough. But the density was enough to impress even the strictest Tradesman.

And they were all alive, suffused with ethera and vitality.

But when he looked at the rest of the staff, he could only feel a deep sense of disappointment. For a while, he just stared at it, not understanding why. Then it hit him, and when it did, it felt so obvious that he very nearly slapped his palm across his face.

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The vines.

When he’d decided to include them, Elijah had done so because he liked the idea behind it. But now? They just looked out of place. Like putting a hat on a hat. Adding to that perception was the fact that the bacterial runes had clearly been added after the fact.

In short, they were just wrong.

Shaking his head, Elijah decided to correct the mistake. His carving knife came out, and he went to work. His blade hovered over the first off-shoot, but for only a second before he began to cut. The material was hard, so it took Elijah a few hours just to get through. Another couple of hours passed before it was entirely detached. And two days went by before he’d completely cut the vines away.

And when he looked at that naked shaft, he felt a deep sense of relief.

He’d made the right choice.

Now, it was on him to finish fixing his mistake. He went back to work with his files, smoothing the connection points and incorporating some new ideas into the shaft.

Elijah had no idea how long he kept at it.

The new shape of the weapon required a complete aesthetic rework, but for the first time since he’d begun, he allowed his instincts to take over. He worked feverishly, maintaining a frenzied pace for hours, then days. Never stopping, not because he didn’t want to confront the world, but because he’d finally lost himself to true inspiration.

The shaft was transformed.

And only when he finally finished the new carvings did he realize what had happened.

It looked a lot like his very first weapon. The Staff of Natural Harmony.

Though there were obvious differences, both in terms of quality and structure. The first gave the staff a far more naturalistic, yet intentional look. And like that first staff, it appeared as though it had been constructed of tangled roots. But with the new weapon, the knots were far tighter, flowing upward to partially encapsulate the Keystone. The leaves had pared down into a flowing edge that came to a sharp point.

It was beautiful in its apparent simplicity.

And it fit him far better than the gaudy shape he’d initially settled upon.

He loved it, which brought a deep sense of relief that he hadn’t ruined the entire project, just because he’d had a new idea.

After establishing that, Elijah went to work with sandpaper, smoothing the rough edges and preparing it for finishing.

That was when Nerthus came by.

“It will be a powerful piece of equipment,” the spryggent stated.

“I hope so. The materials that went into it…”

“What?” asked Nerthus as Elijah left the thought hanging.

“Well, I was going to say they cost a fortune, but that’s not entirely true. Priceless would be a better word,” Elijah explained. After all, Treebie was a unique being, and his limbs were treasures the likes of which had never before been seen on Earth. Maybe not in the entire multi-verse. “I just hope I did the materials justice.”

“May I?” Nerthus asked, holding out a gnarled, root-like hand.

“Sure.”

Elijah handed the staff over. His stomach twisted into knots as Nerthus looked it over. For all that Elijah had made great strides in his abilities, he knew he couldn’t grow things like Nerthus could. For a spryggent, understanding the nature of life was an innate instinct. And Nerthus had embraced his own nature to such a degree that he was probably the closest thing to an expert Elijah was likely to meet.

That made Elijah feel like a child handing his homework over to his teacher and awaiting their judgement.

“This is interesting,” Nerthus said, peering close to the Keystone.

“See any mistakes?”

“No. But I am no Runecrafter.”

“Neither am I.”

Nerthus gave a good-natured chuckle. “I believe you are underestimating your capabilities,” he said. “If there is anyone else on this planet who can create living runes, I have yet to meet nor hear of them. On Earth, this is a unique piece.”

He handed it back.

“But I would like to help.”

“I kind of want to finish it myself,” Elijah insisted. That was part of his process. As much as an expert might assist in creating his various staves, he liked to do things himself.

“Not in its construction. Are you aware of the effect of my sap?”

Elijah nodded. Miguel had used Nerthus’ sap to create a resin that he then used to coat the blades of his weapons.

“I would like to provide some.”

Elijah couldn’t think of a reason to refuse, so Nerthus handed over a small jar, explaining that it had already been prepared.

“Thank you,” Elijah said. “This means a lot.”

“You are not alone, Elijah. Please remember that.”

“I know.”

With that, Nerthus disappeared into a nearby root, leaving Elijah to focus on his project. The resin was a green so dark that it was almost black, and he applied it generously to what he now recognized as the weapon’s blade.

Inadvertently, he’d made a spear.

Or maybe it had been intentional, considering he’d been training with one with Miguel. Though that choice had been based more on a whim than anything else. But in retrospect, it made sense. After all, he’d grown to realize just how useful a blade could be while employing the Verdant Fang.

Regardless, Elijah used plenty of the resin to coat the spear’s blade. Hopefully, that would help it maintain a proper edge.

Next came the finish. For that, Elijah had gone to Biggle, who’d provided him with a dye made from copper ethereum soaked in homemade vinegar. It mimicked a method for creating verdigris – a green finish that had been used to stain wood for centuries. In this case, Elijah used it sparingly. Almost like he was applying a patina.

The blue-grey wood absorbed it very well, giving the carved roots the appearance that they were alive. The ethera running through made them seem like they were moving.

After he’d left that to dry, Elijah resorted to something that seemed both appropriate and like a terrible waste. He brewed a few gallons of coffee – made from the cherries grown within the grove – and dumped it into a trough long enough to accommodate the entire spear.

Then, he submerged the weapon.

From what he’d read, the process for staining wood with coffee was less about soaking the wood for a long time. Rather, it was about the number of coats. So, Elijah only left it submerged for about an hour before he retrieved the spear and gave it a rough sanding to bring out the grain. Then, he resubmerged it.

Over the next couple of days, Elijah repeated that process a dozen times until the wood had taken on moderately dark brown color punctuated by green highlights where he’d used the verdigris.

After inspecting it and touching it up, Elijah left the weapon to dry for a few days. During that time, he alternated between trying to spend time with his friends and plans for taking Carmen’s advice. A trip sounded like just what he needed to help him settle into the new version of Earth.

Once the spear was dry and Elijah was satisfied that it was as perfect as he could manage, he used some wax harvested from the grove’s apiary to seal it. And finally, he was done, which prompted a notification that he chose to ignore for the time being. Instead, he simply admired the piece he’d created.

It wasn’t what he’d set out to carve, but in his mind, it was far better than those initial ideas. It fit him. And what’s more, it fit the name given to it by the system:

Congratulations! You have created a unique item [Thorn]! This item will serve to enhance any nature-attuned spells or abilities. Grade: Miraculous (Growth)

It was the same sort of notification he’d received upon crafting the Staff of Natural Harmony. But in this instance, it was much, much more powerful. When he looked at it, he could only feel a deep sense of satisfaction.