The Newt and Demon - Book 5 Chapters 37,38,39

Chapter 37

Old Gods, New Gods

The cottage in Tero’gal was stuffier than normal. A fire crackled in the fireplace as several gods sat around the table, sipping tea and trading war stories of times-gone-by. Theo watched as Drogramath, Uz’Xulven, Glantheir, and Benton chatted about the way things were. The bear god was the one with the fewest stories to share, barely having been born in the previous age. But he brought a mortal’s perspective to how things were before Balkor descended from the heavens.

“I remember seeing him,” Benton said, nodding nervously to himself. “Even from the mountains, I saw him.”

“I’m pretty sure everyone saw that upstart pierce the clouds,” Uz’Xulven snorted a laugh, gesturing wildly enough to spill some tea on the table. “Then we pounced, casting him to the ground.”

Theo took a lazy sip of his tea. “Sure was effective.”

Uz’Xulven glared, but Glantheir chuckled. “He has us there. I knew the Demon God of Necromancy had a plan,” the elven god said. “Who could have known it was this long-winded?”

The conversation went on for some time. Theo had spent his time at the part on the mortal plane, and required something calmer to soothe him before bed. The gods were always willing to travel to Tero’gal for a nice cup of tea, and they all behaved well enough to make for good company. The alchemist enjoyed his time there, but a nagging knock slammed against the side of his consciousness. He dashed outside, looking up as though he expected to see Uharis breaking through his barriers once again. But there had been upgrades to the realm since then.

“What is that?” Belgar asked, rushing over to stand with Theo.

Clearing away the clutter of his mind, Theo focused on his realm. The gods could knock on the door of his realm if they wanted entry. It was normally the polite tapping of knuckles on the door. Whoever was requesting entry was pounding with closed fists, demanding entry. But within the realm of Tero’gal there were only two masters. The alchemist allowed his mind to calm, then granted whoever it was entrance.

A loud snap issued throughout the town square. An archway of blood and bone rose, far taller than the other portals Theo had seen. A figure, at least twice the height of the alchemist, stepped through with drunken swagger. “Whelp!” the figure shouted.

Glantheir came out from the cottage, still holding a cup of tea. “Oh, my. That’s Spit.”

Spit. The Ogre Patron of Curing Things Most of the Time sauntered over the verdant grasses of Tero’gal. As an ogre, he was absolutely massive. The god was at least twice the size of any half-ogre he had seen, with broad shoulders, dusky brown skin, and a shaved head. His features were exaggerated with massive tusks sticking from his bottom lips, and little more than a loincloth wrapped around his waist.

“I would invite you for tea, but… I think you’re too big,” Theo said, waving awkwardly.

Spit snorted, then spat on the ground. He approached Theo, looking down at the alchemist. He held a clenched fist before him. “Let’s fight.”

“I’d rather not,” Theo said, looking around at the other gods for direction. They all shrugged. The alchemist felt safe because higher realms couldn’t declare war on lower ones. “Is this about your hex?”

“Of course it was. The frogs were funny, but you dismissed them! Before the frog-folk even got there,” Spit grumbled, cracking his knuckles. “Just like a demon to dismiss such fun.”

“I’m sorry. The frogs were annoying. Ogre magic is annoying.”

Spit’s hand moved in a flash, closing around Theo’s head and squeezing. The alchemist stood there, watching as the god strained with no effect. Uz’Xulven had showed him that gods don’t have power in another god’s realm unless they had declared war. Even then, they couldn’t approach the place through the normal means. There was an entirely unique path they had to take.

“Bah!” Spit shouted, glowering down at Theo.

“This has been entertaining,” Glantheir said, waving a dismissive hand. “But I grow bored of the angry ogre routine.”

“Yeah, me too,” Uz’Xulven said, yawning dramatically. “This is why no one takes you seriously, Spit.”

“Plenty of people take me seriously.”

“They really don’t,” Uz’Xulven said, walking over to place a comforting hand on Spit’s lower arm. That was as high as she could reach. “Outside of Slagrot, you’re a joke.”

Spit frowned. “But the frogs were funny.”

“Oh, they were so funny,” Uz’Xulven said, patting his arm consolingly. “Let’s bring the tea and the sweets outside. Have a picnic for the mighty Spit.”

Spit nodded, the angry frown still hanging on his face. Theo watched as Uz’Xulven, Glantheir, and Benton carried the tea and the food outside. They brought a table to keep it off the ground. Ever since creatures arrived in the realm, they brought with them insects. Those critters would have loved to latch onto the crystalized sugar pastries that Benton had brought. Spit took a seat on his butt near the table, folding his arms in his lap as he waited for someone to pour him tea.

“Much better. Try Benton’s tea. You’ll change your mind about Theo,” Uz’Xulven said, pouring the ogre god a cup.

Theo watched as the massive ogre picked the cup up by the handle, using far more grace than he should have possessed. With his pinky out, Spit sipped the tea. The frown on his face melted away, and he nodded. “This is excellent tea.”

“Only the best,” Benton said, chuckling nervously.

Spit drained his tea, smiled, then ate the cup. “Another. Please.”

Benton winced, his eyes going slightly wide. “Of course.”

That’s how the daily tea party in Tero’gal gained a new, angry patron. After airing his complaints, Spit calmed down a lot. He ate every teacup he was given, but Benton seemed to have an infinite supply. When the conversation had evened out, Theo excused himself to have a word with Belgar.

“Could we rebuild the cottage again?” Theo asked, gesturing to the too-small structure. “Make it big enough for ogres.”

Belgar stared at him for a moment. His glowing purple eyes flared in recognition before he smiled back. “Sure. Why not?”

The things the souls had built were impressive. It didn’t matter if they hadn’t created tools to build things, or organized any specific group to do the work. They had so much time to do whatever they wanted that none of it mattered. The time in the heavens had evened out, resulting in twenty-four hours passing for every five minutes in the mortal realm. For each day that Theo experienced in mortal time, a year passed up here. The alchemist spent some time discussing this with Belgar before leaving. Instead of heading back, finishing dinner, and entering the Dreamwalk, he took a stroll along the trail he had created. Belgar joined him.

“You should do more things like this,” the eager dronon said. They passed by a group of souls, half-drifting over the dirt path.

“We’ll have an entire world to build on top of before long.”

Belgar scoffed. “This place is already large enough.”

That was the last thing they said before falling into a comfortable silence. After getting their fill of streams, valleys, and other interesting landmarks, Theo departed for the mortal plane. The Bridge of Shadows shivered as he passed over, sending forth its approval. He fell back into his chair, surrounded by his friends. Tresk was in the middle of telling a story.

“So anyway, I started stabbing,” she said, withdrawing a knife and stabbing at the air.

“I don’t recall you stabbing Alran,” Sarisa said.

“Because she didn’t.” Rowan shook his head in disapproval, but he was smiling.

“But I coulda. Oh hi, Theo.”

“How was your trip?” Sarisa asked.

Theo took a moment, allowing his thoughts to gather. He had gotten into the habit of just leaving the gods in his realm. According to Belgar, they spent a lot of time there, often coming and going as the days passed in the heavens. Spit might have been a problem, but he couldn’t do anything about it. For all the blustering an ogre could produce, it wasn’t enough to damage the realm.

“Very fun,” Theo said, briefly explaining the walking path he had created. Unfortunately, the craze of foot-races had diminished. Birdwatching was the next big thing. “Belgar has a new body.”

“Zarali was talking about that,” Tresk said, giggling. “Says she doesn’t recognize her own brother.”

The conversation swayed between topics. Sarisa had made some great food, but Theo didn’t feel up to visiting the bathhouse tonight. Despite the Coat of Rake, he wasn’t enjoying the way this world’s summer dragged on forever. Instead, he retreated to the Dreamwalk with Tresk, eager to feel the nothingness within. They slipped into the dream effortlessly. The marshling constructed the image of the rocky passes outside of Gronro-Dir.

“Perfect place to fight a dragon,” she said. “Or that weird pale elf.”

Theo nodded. It was the perfect environment for a dragon to toast a marshling. She didn’t stand a chance against even the weakest dragon. If such a thing existed. The alchemist dedicated himself to grinding experience, something he had been shying away from lately. He turned away from his urge to discover new things, leaving that for tomorrow. Instead, he focused his efforts on producing third tier potions to extract as much experience points for his alchemy core. For his herbalist core, he simply grew crops, and constructed golems.

Intuitive Nodes had been an interesting ability. Between batches of imagined potions and imagined crops, Theo considered that ability. The Dreamwalk pushed back when he used it, but the joined will of the Tara’hek broke it without issue. The important thing he learned was that the ability had a doubling effect for his wards. A ward that lasted five days would last ten days with the ability. The alchemist assumed that meant the power of an effect would also double.

By the end of the Dreamwalk, Theo had pushed his two main cores to Level 29, as well as his personal level to the same stage. His Toru’aun Mage’s Core hit Level 22, which was no surprise. Thanks to infinite mana, he could cast spells repeatedly. Before leaving the Dreamwalk, he considered where to place his free attribute point. Vigor was the way to go. The Tara’hek did a lot to reduce the mind-altering effects of attributes, but he didn’t want to push his Intelligence to 30 until he had a solid plan. A duplication of the soul-style potion was needed.

“Rise and shine!” Tresk shouted, dragging all members of the bond out of the Dreamwalk.

Theo felt himself jolt in his bed. He didn’t bother yelling at Tresk. She was already gone. And of course, she had already wolfed down her breakfast by the time he got downstairs. He took his time, reading through administrative reports as he had pozwa eggs with some wheat bread. It would have been nice if Alex stuck around for breakfast, but she was on city-watch duty. She had been ordered to watch for Qavell since they got their information. Both Twist and the high commander from Tarantham had helped to solidify their defensive strategy, and the goose was necessary.

With Rowan still on vacation, Theo was joined by Sarisa in the shadows, and the rent-a-guard following close behind. There were no administrative things to worry about, so he headed straight for the Newt and Demon. Salire wasn’t even in yet, giving him time to create a plan for the day. The new Holy modifier from the fermented Swamp Truffles already had interesting interactions with potions. The alchemist had a slew of random potions that produced dangerous effects, and his experience with the art told him the modifier was the perfect thing to calm them down.

Theo was excited to try out the modifier, but Salire deserved to see the changes it made to their potions. Instead, he checked on his golem network and checked the stock within the lab. The golems were all doing fine. Even those with the new artifices were going strong. Within the lab, there was a large amount of first tier essences ready for brewing. Salire had been going hard, making sure she had enough things to provide for the patrons of the shop. Those essences wouldn’t make the best potion, but they would do in a pinch.

After checking the supplies, reorganizing the old glassware and reagents, dusting the shelves, sweeping the floor, and dumping Cleansing Scrub on every available surface, he got to work. Salire wasn’t coming, and it wasn’t his place to force her to work every single day of the week. The alchemist turned to the grump half-ogre guard standing in the room’s corner, thinking for a moment before he spoke.

“Could you watch the store?” Theo asked.

The half-ogre’s face twisted into confusion. “I don’t get paid to run a shop.”

“You can keep all the money you make.”

The guard’s face lit up.

“All the items are organized,” Theo said, shooing the guard away. The guard left without another word, a smile lingering on his face.

Sarisa stepped from the shadows, hand over her mouth as she chuckled. “Do you hate him that much?”

“No. Someone has to watch the shop,” Theo said, organizing materials for his first experiment. “And you’re good enough to guard me.”

Sarisa shrugged, finding a seat in the room’s corner. “You’re the boss. I guess.”

Theo nodded. He withdrew a potion from a storage crate and placed it on the counter. The Potion of Desperate Attack was on the line between safe and dangerous. It took half the drinker’s health, returning one and a half times the amount taken as damage on their next attack. The alchemist prepared a vial to transfer the potion into, then withdrew a flask of Holy modifier. The potion had settled to a shade of crimson that shimmered with black striations. While he hadn’t seen potions settle between colors as they rested, Theo didn’t see this as odd. He poured it into the new vial, then added the golden Holy modifier.

The Desperate Attack potion swirled, bubbled, and spewed fumes into the air. Within a moment, the built-in artifice extractor clicked on, sucking away the foul air. It smelled of dried blood and berries. After the reaction settled down, Theo leaned in to inspect the new potion. As expected, the Holy modifier changed the resulting potion drastically.

[Potion of Desperate Attack]

[Holy]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Rare

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

To be quaffed in dire circumstances. This potion exemplifies the Zureah’s tendency to perform attacks that put their lives in danger.

Effect:

The next time the drinker attacks an enemy, they gain the Holy Desperation effect.

When Holy Desperation is activated, attacks made by the drinker will consume 1% of their health. Once 25% of their health has been consumed using this method, they will release an attack equal to 2 times the amount of health taken. This attack triggers during their next attack.

That took the edge off of the potion. Instead of taking fifty percent of a drinker’s health at once, it took twenty-five percent total. The fact that it only took one percent at a time was a boon compared to the old version. Theo couldn’t decide if this was a good potion, but at least it wasn’t a bad one. He moved to his next potion, the Potion of Berserk. This one was almost all bad. It took ninety-eight percent of the drinker’s health, dealing that back as damage on their next attack. The worst part was the Berserker’s Rage effect, which turned them into a killing machine. The drinker can’t be killed for twenty seconds, but they also can’t recognize who their friends or foes are.

“Yikes,” Theo said, withdrawing the dangerous potion from his inventory. He was convinced that this would end poorly, but it was worth a shot.

The alchemist placed an empty vial, pouring in the orange-colored potion before introducing the Holy modifier. It reacted violently, bubbling, fuming, and spitting as though trying to escape from the vial. Theo took a few steps back and waited for the reaction to finish. When it was finally completed, he moved in to inspect the resulting potion.

[Potion of Berserk]

[Holy]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Epic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

To be quaffed in circumstances without hope. This represents the Zureah’s tendency of fighting to the death.

Effect:

The next time the drinker attacks an enemy, they gain the Holy Berserk effect.

When Holy Berserk is active, the drinker connects with the power of the closest-aligned realm. 50% of the drinker’s health is consumed.

Depending on the realm’s strength, an amount of damage is added to the next attack, multiplied by 2.

If the drinker’s connection with their realm is stronger than the being they attack, they will enter a state of Holy Berserker’s Rage.

The owner of the realm will temporarily assume the drinker as a vessel, controlling them like a puppet. The drinker will gain temporary health based on the realm owner’s strength.

Each attack they perform will contain the power of the original Holy Berserk effect. When this effect expires, the drinker will restore 25% of the original 50% removed health, plus 1% of all damage dealt.

Theo let out a steady breath. That was a hard potion to understand, given his position as a realm-holder. At least it didn’t take almost all of the drinker’s health, meaning it wasn’t deadly for the imbiber. The numbers were hazy, though. There was no way to know if the amount of damage dealt was worth losing all that health, but it was better. He concluded that this wasn’t a potion for anyone without a realm. Unless it was a friendly god, this was just a way to allow the gods into the mortal realm.

“Seems like this breaks some of Khahar’s rules,” Theo said, listening to the bell ringing downstairs. After a moment, the sound of footsteps ascending the many stairs came from below.

Salire, with her shoulders slumped, entered the room. She had bags under her eyes, and her complexion was pale. “Why don’t we have Sanchrin?” she groaned.

“Hangover?” Theo asked, beckoning for her to come over. “You should have taken it easy.”

“And who is running my shop?” Salire asked, shuffling over to take a seat. “Are you doing alchemy without me?”

Theo smiled at his assistant. “Come on. We’ll do some more.”

Chapter 38

The Future

Mid-morning sun filtered through the foggy glass of the Newt and Demon. Salire sat with her head propped, eyes wide as she blinked away her hangover. The potions Theo had crafted were resting on the table, awaiting inspection. But the half-ogre alchemist seemed to have trouble focusing her eyes, thanks to the pounding headache and her sour stomach. A cure for hangovers wasn’t a weapon he was ready to unleash on Broken Tusk. The resulting parties would shake the foundations of the planet, likely causing an orbital shift that would destroy the planet.

Theo chuckled to himself, startling Salire. “What?” she asked groggily.

“Nothing. You’re just normally taking notes.”

Salire groaned, rising to her feet like a marionette being pulled by its strings. She shambled to a storage crate, withdrawing a flask of Freeze Essence. Without hesitation, the half-ogre splashed it in her face and screamed. A thick sheet of ice formed on her face, encasing both it and her shouts of protest. One deft smack and the ice shattered. At least she looked awake.

“I think I’m good,” Salire said, eyes wider than they were before. She placed her notes on the table, slapping her cheeks before finding her pen. Theo gave her a few minutes to inspect the potions, awaiting her stunned response. “These are… weird. They’re not as deadly as the base potions.”

“Exactly. The Holy modifier took the edge off.”

“What other horrible potions do we have?”

“Those were the worst. Aside from the one I had planned to send to Fenian. Not sure how this would affect a lich-creating potion.”

“Why not try?”

Theo had to think about that one before diving head-first. Perhaps it was his increased Intelligence attribute, but a pinch of caution went a long way with potion-making. He waited for Wisdom of the Soul to pop up, which it did. The message wasn’t helpful, only claiming that it was impossible to know how the potion would interact. The alchemist considered the alignments of potions, and came to a solid conclusion.

“Death is the opposite of Holy,” Theo said. “My guess is that we would have an explosion.”

“Best to avoid explosions,” Salire said, nodding. “I’ll dig through our reserve stock for anything interesting.”

Before long, Salire had organized a gaggle of different potions. Her most interesting pick was the poison potions. But the one Theo wanted to see the most was the Limited Foresight Potion. That potion was already powerful enough on its own, so he selected it as his first test. He transferred the potion to a larger vial, then introduced the Holy modifier. The liquids mixed instantly, producing almost no reaction. When a potion modification behaved like that, it normally meant they were closely aligned. Both Theo and Salire leaned in to inspect the resulting potion.

[Potion of Limited Foresight]

[Holy]

[Potion] [Modified Potion

Epic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Grade: Perfect Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

The imbiber of this potion may view a random future event from the location they drank the potion.

The drinker may only experience the effects of this potion once every month. If another person imbibes this potion in the same location as the original drinker, they will experience the same event.

Theo stared at the potion for a long time. Salire remained silent as his mind wrapped itself around the potion. The potion didn’t describe how far in the future the drinker would see. And it claimed to be random, with no stated weight on the importance of the viewed event. The alchemist scratched his head, unable to decide if it was a good thing.

“Drink it,” Salire said, tapping her fingers on the table.

Theo turned to his assistant, brows knitted. “What?”

“We’re both thinking about it. Just drink it.”

Theo wrapped his fingers around the vial, then gave his companion a confused look. Where had the caution from earlier gone? He wouldn’t have quaffed the potion if he wasn’t so disappointed with the result. He tipped his head back, drinking it in one go. Salire watched with excitement in her eyes.

The alchemist’s vision faded.

Salire shouted something, but Theo couldn’t make it out. He felt as though his sight had been plucked from his eyes, then transported to a place high in the sky. Without a body, he simply observed an alien landscape. A crater, slowly filling with water from an adjacent sea, scarred the land. The alchemist observed as a wash of flames scoured everything from the land. Trees were incinerated in a heartbeat. Stone was made molten. The vision panned to the side, revealing more of the complete destruction.

In an instant, the vision ended. Theo felt himself falling back like a sack of bricks. He caught himself, and his heart pounded. Without a body, he was unable to experience any emotion. Now that his sight had been placed back, a feeling of dread crept over him. The crater was Broken Tusk. The entire alliance was destroyed—maybe the planet. Whatever fear he felt in his heart didn’t translate to his face. Another gift from the ever-increasing Intelligence attribute.

“Well? What did you see?”

Theo shook his head. “Nothing interesting. Broken Tusk. Maybe a week from now,” he lied.

“Bummer. Let’s make another! I wanna see.”

“Let’s not,” Theo said, a fake smile spreading across his face. “Let’s find a potion to modify that isn’t disappointing.”

Salire sighed, then gazed at the collection of potions she had assembled.

“What the hell was that?” Tresk asked. “What did you see? Was that Broken Tusk?”

“In the future,” Theo said, biting the inside of his cheek.

“Well, damn! How far in the future?”

“I don’t know.”

Tresk went silent. Salire had made her selection, but Theo could feel the Tara’hek chewing on the information. He wanted to keep it a secret, but was that the right thing to do? Was the future set in stone? The alchemist shook his head, picking up the potion that his assistant had selected.

“Potion of Sludge. This is the potion that turns yours sweat into ooze,” Theo said, giving her a flat look.

“Yeah. It sucks, so the effects might be good. Right?”

Theo shrugged. As long as it didn’t come with visions of the future, he would try anything. The potion looked like a nightmare to drink, and the alchemist regretted ever brewing it. He tilted the vial to the side, watching as the contents oozed. It was far too thick to drink. Placing it over the vial, they waited for the contents to transfer. It took several minutes.

“I’m calling a meeting with Aarok,” Tresk said. “I watched what you saw, Theo. That ain’t good.”

“That could be a million years in the future. We don’t know.”

“I’d rather be cautious,” Alex said, interjecting.

Theo grumbled, watching as the last of the potion oozed into the vial. He cleared his throat, withdrawing a single unit of the Holy modifier. The potion and the modifier mixed together better than he expected. The black ooze lightened, then lost almost all its viscosity. While the scent it produced was something between wet socks and flowers, the resulting potion didn’t look that bad. Both Theo and Salire leaned in to inspect the result.

[Potion of Sludge]

[Holy]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Uncommon

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

The drinker sweats Holy Water.

Effect:

For one hour, the drinker’s sweat is replaced with Holy Water. Undead creatures will gain the Banishment effect if they come into contact with this water.

“That just made a weird potion weirder,” Salire said.

“Sweating Holy Water?” Theo asked, tapping his foot. “I’m not mad. Just disappointed.”

Theo had trouble thinking of a use for that one. Maybe if the undead were repelled by the scent of the Holy Water, this would work. It might have had a niche use, but he couldn’t think about it. Instead, they moved on. Salire had selected a lot of potions, and one of them was bound to be useful.

“Here we have the Hallow Frost Potion,” Salire said, gesturing to the blue-silver mix on the table. “Made from our very own Azrug’s Truffle!”

“I still hate that name,” Theo said, transferring the potion to a new vial.

The base potion was decent enough. It was just a mix of a freeze bomb and a regular Hallow Ground potion. The alchemist introduced the golden modifier, watching as the potion reacted. He was satisfied with how well the potions got along, watching as the blues and silvers of the potion mixed with the gold of the modifier. They laced together, creating strands of color throughout the resulting potion. Both he and Salire leaned in, inspecting the new creation.

[Hallow Frost Potion]

[Holy]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Epic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

Apply to a surface or creature to create a zone of denial.

Effect:

Applying this to any surface, including creatures, creates a one pace circle with the [Holy Frost] effect.

Enemy targets inflicted with [Holy Frost] will take banishment damage every time they act. Actions include spells, abilities, movement, attacks, and so on.

Friendly targets affected by [Holy Frost] will heal an amount of damage based on the amount of undead banished during the duration of this potion.

“See?” Salire asked, jumping excitedly. “A good one!”

It was a good one. Especially if a person were fighting the undead up-close. Theo read the description several times, noting the one weakness of the potion. If the Holy Frost effect faded quickly, a person would need to stay within that circle. Otherwise, they could drop the potion, move on and keep healing. With a little testing, he could determine if it was good or not.

The bell rang downstairs. Salire instinctively stood up, but waited when she heard the footsteps ascending the stairs. Theo knew what was coming, and wasn’t surprised when the hulking form of Luras stepped through the door. “Emergency meeting,” he grunted, jerking his head back toward the door.

“Dammit, Tresk,” Theo said, sighing. “We’re not done, Salire. Sarisa, please stay here.”

Sarisa looked around awkwardly. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Theo left with Luras. As they moved through the town, he was reminded of when he first arrived in Broken Tusk. Luras had been the person to show him the ropes, explaining the system and how the town operated. That wasn’t very long ago, but somehow it felt like a lifetime. The alchemist felt a wave of relief spread over him when they passed by the town hall, heading for the Adventurer’s Guild instead. Outside of a meeting room were a half-ogre and elven adventurer, standing guard. They moved to the side, allowing the pair entry.

Inside the meeting room were Tresk, Alex, and Aarok. Luras found a corner to stand in, and Theo took his seat at the head of the table. “You could have waited until I was done working,” the alchemist said, nodding at Tresk.

Tresk simply shrugged.

“We’re keeping this a secret,” Aarok said. “Are there any details Tresk missed?”

“I doubt it,” Theo said. “She’s gotten good at probing my memories.”

“Retell what you saw anyway,” Aarok said.

Theo relied on his memory to tell the tale, sparing no details. Both Aarok and Luras nodded along as he spoke, taking in every detail. The alchemist watched the memory again in his mind, extracting even the smallest detail. When the story was completed, both men nodded.

“That’s way bigger than we are now,” Aarok said. “At least three-times our size if your description is accurate.”

“Pretty far in the future,” Luras put in.

Theo only wished that he had never drank the potion. Now he was worried about what would happen to the town. But Aarok was right. As he thought about the memory, he realized just how far in the future that must have been. The crater was absolutely massive, stretching far to the north. It even bit into the mountains on either side of the river’s path. Whatever event caused the destruction of the area was far away. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m not sure if there’s any force around that could cause that amount of destruction,” Aarok said. “You said that Khahar had the gods bound up. There’s no way they would intrude. So this is some apocalyptic event we can’t prevent.”

“No need to worry,” Luras said, nodding in agreement.

“I wanted to make sure we met with the big boys about this, Theo,” Tresk said. “When I watched the memory, there were some things that bothered me. Just stuff that isn’t where it should be. My first concern was that it was Qavell coming to squash us.”

Aarok waved a dismissive hand. “Even they don’t have that kind of firepower.”

It was hard to tell if they were trying to comfort him, or if it was the truth. Theo took a few long moments to think about it, and decided that his companions were completely right. It wasn’t a near-future Broken Tusk he was looking at in that vision, but one far enough in the future that he didn’t care. Once again, he was reminded of the past. Back on Earth, they had known about the destruction of their planet. He was content with it back then, but now…

Theo pushed his plan into the back of his mind, guarding it from Tresk. He understood why the crater was there. Why Broken Tusk wasn’t burning in the flames.

The alchemist smiled.

“Well, I should get back to my alchemy,” Theo said, rising from his chair.

Aarok looked at Tresk, who nodded. “Yeah, he’s happy.”

“Good. Let us know if you get more weird information, Theo,” Aarok said.

The town was buzzing outside of the Adventurer’s Guild. People chatted about what new merchants would show up at the docks, and expressed hope for the future of the alliance. That was driven by the success Theo had pushing back the undead corruption to the north. He took a lazy path through town, passing by the monolith. It reminded him he should focus his financial efforts on getting more Monster Cores to level both the town and the buildings up. For now, his sights were set on the Newt and Demon and the experiments within.

Sarisa was waiting outside of the lab, arms folded and a sharp look on her face. “Anything I should be concerned about?” she asked as he entered the building.

“Nope. Actually, it was a false alarm. Spy stuff, you know.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Oh!” Salire said as Theo entered the lab. “I was going to clean up. Didn’t expect you to be back.”

“I’m just happy your hangover is gone.”

“Oh, it’s still here. I’m just awake.”

“Let’s do a few more potions.”

Salire insisted they try the Dragon’s Breath Potion next. There was only one in stock, and they took forever to make. Theo looked at the potion before attempting to bind a modifier to it, trying to detect any objection to the Holy modifier. Nothing stuck out to him. The Dragon’s Breath Potion was likely aligned with fire, meaning it should bind just fine. But the strength of the swirling red-black potion might be a problem. He shrugged, pouring the potion into a new vial and introducing the golden modifier essence. The liquids reacted violently. A gout of fire burst from the vial’s spout, glittering gold mingling with the orange-red flames. The room was filled with the scent of sulfur and flowers. Theo and Salire took positions behind a table, watching the reaction from a safe distance.

Fortunately, the lab didn’t catch fire.

“Is it done?” Salire asked.

Theo inspected the ceiling for damage. It was charred, but nothing the building couldn’t repair on its own. “Seems good. Let’s check it out.”

Both Salire and Theo edged closer, inspecting the potion when they finally crept near the work table.

[Dragon’s Breath Potion]

[Holy]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Mythic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

Drink to produce Dragon’s Fire.

Effect:

For five seconds after consuming this potion, the imbiber will produce Holy Dragon’s Fire from their mouth. This fire can be directed in whatever direction the imbiber is facing.

Friendly targets will gain the Holy Dragon’s Reprieve effect, healing minor damage and reducing incoming damage for one hour.

Enemy targets will gain the Holy Dragon’s Purge effect, taking Holy Fire damage.

The Holy modified Dragon’s Breath Potion took care of some issues with the original one. This new version wouldn’t kill allies, which was a boon. Theo’s biggest concern with the base potion was that it would harm anyone near the dinker. Since a person couldn’t cut the stream off, that would have deadly consequences. This version got rid of all that.

“We’ll take this as a win!” Salire said, pumping her fist in the air.

“Agreed,” Theo said, stashing the potion into his inventory. “I think we’ve learned a lot from this.”

“Yeah, we really did.”

Theo and Salire agreed that this was enough alchemy for the day. Instead of packing it up and doing something else, the alchemist helped set up a seven still run for Hallow Ground Essence. That would leave her with enough equipment to perform her own distillations, allowing her to work on her levels. Once everything was running, he excused himself from the lab and headed out into town.

“What are we doing?” Sarisa asked. “Want me to stay behind again?”

“No. I wanted to take a trip to Gronro.”

Sarisa’s face went slightly green. “Really?”

“I need to check on my golems.”

Sarisa’s shoulders slumped. “Hey, boss. Is it too late to ask for some vacation days?”

Chapter 39

Weaver and Butcher

The harbor spread below Theo. He clicked his tongue, looking down at the empty areas where trader’s ships should have been. The alchemist flicked a gold coin into the air, catching it before releasing a sigh. Upgrading buildings always brought a sense of accomplishment, but without traders to buy Monster Cores from that wouldn’t happen. After lingering there for some time, he departed. Half-way back to the town’s center he realized something.

“We have a trader.”

From the town square, a road ran to the east. A while ago, the only thing along this road was Xam’s bathhouse and Miana’s ranch. But the industrious half-ogre Azrug had created two ventures of his own. His stables had been a flop after the creation of the railroad, but his other business was doing very well. After a short walk, Theo spotted Azrug’s general store resting atop a slight hill. He had been operating out of a house for a while, but it was nice to see the young man finally getting his stuff together.

Theo entered the general store, stopping just at the threshold. “You’re not Azrug.”

A wiry elf sat behind the counter, looking around and shrugging. “Nope.”

“Do you guys stock monster cores?”

The elf snorted, then laughed. “Yeah. Of course.”

Theo cleared his throat, approaching the counter and getting an idea for the price of the cores. Azrug was charging slightly higher than what the alchemist considered a wholesale price. Most merchants docking at the port offered that slightly discounted price, making the cost easier to stomach. After throwing a bit of weight around, the archduke got less than wholesale, as he bought the entire stock of the store out.

“What a joy,” the elf said in his native Taranthian tongue.

“Goodbye,” Theo said, responding in his pidgin version of the language. He really needed to work on memorizing the language more.

The cost of the Monster Cores wasn’t so bad. Theo’s funds were constantly bolstered by his various holdings around town. Before upgrading the town to the next phase, which should make it a city instead of a town, the alchemist wanted to bring most buildings up to level 30. Fortunately, that was a relatively short list.

The smelters, sawmill, small farm, large farm, manor, town hall, herbalist’s workshop, weaver, and butcher were all the standard buildings that he was in charge of below Level 30. Until he got an ability to take advantage of the Herbalist’s Workshop, he wouldn’t worry about that one. The Weaver was top on his list, as it made an absurd amount of money. Not only was the Starbristle Flax useful for ship making, merchants bought it at a premium. That was because Tarantham wasn’t exporting it anymore, and they had been the global source for the uniquely colored cloth for as long as anyone could remember.

“Weaver first,” Theo said, making his way over to the small building by Zarali’s Enchanter’s Workshop.

Kaya ran the weaver. She was an older elven woman who kept to herself. Theo suspected she was still in shock after her house escaped from Tarantham. She spoke no Qavelli at all, and seemed eager to keep it that way. The alchemist entered her building and nodded his head. She was working on processing a new crop of flax and barely paid any attention to him.

“Please help,” Theo said in Taranthian. “Upgrades.”

She nodded, smiling up at him. The lines near her eyes deepened. Theo noticed a younger elf in the room, not even an adult. She worked the various equipment in the room with the older elf, averting her eyes from the alchemist.

The building, named Fields of Blue by Kaya, had three upgrades. Efficient Spindles made her weaving more efficient. Tough Fibers made all cloth produced in the building stronger. Processing Room added another room to the building. When actions related to weaving were performed in that room, they consumed less stamina and were faster. It was the room they were currently standing in. Theo cleared his throat, selecting Monster Cores that were close in level to the building. As the building leveled, he expanded it in random directions. There was enough land in any direction. So long as he didn’t expand it to the road.

[Tero’gal Empowerment]

Threads woven in the Weaver will be empowered by the Dreamrealm of Tero’gal. The resulting fabrics will be more durable with a slight resistance to magic.

Theo struggled to translate what he read into understandable Taranthian. After several agonizing moments of snapping his fingers, the little girl spoke up. In her squeaky little voice, she offered to translate. The alchemist was surprised at first, but was happy enough for the help. When the description had been translated, Kaya gave him a flat look. She said something in her native tongue, but he caught none of it.

“She doesn’t want to be a slave to your realm,” the girl said.

“She could select the other upgrades.”

The girl went back and forth with Kaya for a moment before turning back to the alchemist. “She wants the empowerment upgrade.”

Whatever worked for her. He selected Tero’gal Empowerment and added more cores to the building. Digging through his Monster Cores gave him time to think about the influence his realm was having on the real world. The more it grew in strength, the more the realm’s influence was seen in the mortal world. It was a boost to his ego he didn’t need, but the alchemist would snatch at any strand of power he could grasp.

“Next one,” Theo said as the building hit Level 25. He read the description for the girl to translate.

[Mana Loom]

A Mana Loom appears in the Weaver. Cloth created with this loom may be imbued with the weaver’s mana. The weaver may determine what aspects of the cloth to improve.

“She wants that one,” the girl said after only a moment. Theo didn’t need the confirmation. Kaya was excited about that upgrade.

The alchemist selected the upgrade and went back to work. While he had a good scattering of cores from the Level 20 to 25 range, his assortment of cores between 25 and 30 were sparse. With his plan to make each upgrade as efficient as possible, this fact annoyed Theo. He burned a few Level 30 cores but the result was the same. The Level 30 upgrade option appeared and he read it for Kaya’s little friend to translate.

[Metal Threads]

Using a corresponding upgrade for the Smelter building, the Weaver can create delicate threads made from metal. These threads can be crafted into metal cloth.

Theo paused, considering the upgrade as the girl translated. How did that work? The answer was almost certainly ‘magic,’ but he still had questions. After a while, Kaya shook her head and said something. The girl translated.

“Metal weaving is difficult,” the girl said, shrugging. “Too difficult for grandmother.”

Theo nodded, reading off the two other options that were presented when the building was originally planted. Kaya went with the Soothing Mist upgrade.

[Soothing Mist]

The building is filled with a constant cooling mist that imbues all processed fibers. The resulting cloth will be softer.

“That works for me,” Theo said, patting the girl on the head. “Good work on the translation.”

The girl didn’t respond, instead turning to help her grandmother some more. Before heading out, Theo inspected the entire building to appreciate his work.

[Weaver]

[Fields of Blue]

Owners: Theo Spencer

Operator: Kaya Wavecrest

Faction: [Southlands Alliance]

Level: 30 (5%)

Rent Due: SUSPENDED

Expansions:

[Efficient Spindles]

[Tough Fibers]

[Processing Room]

[Tero’gal Empowerment]

[Mana Loom]

[Soothing Mist]

Good enough for now. None of the upgrades seemed very impressive to him, but Kaya seemed satisfied with them. He left the Weaver and was unable to get the idea of metal threads out of his mind. The entire concept seemed so absurd that he now needed to see some. But if the weaver said she couldn’t do it, he wouldn’t press the issue. An area that the alchemist was woefully ignorant of was the needs of those who did combat. Would clothes woven from metal thread be useful for adventurers? Perhaps they were just a shiny status symbol. Instead of making his way directly to his next stop, Theo wandered for a while and thought.

The Holy modifier had opened a new realm of potion making for him. Theo passed by Xam’s tavern, deep enough in thought not to notice Sulvan come up alongside him.

“Busy day?” Sulvan asked.

Theo looked over at the smiling face of Sulvan Flametouched. It was a sight he thought he would never see, but there it was. Thanks to their history, the expression came off more as creepy than endearing. “Just upgrading buildings. Nothing taxing. How goes the healing?”

“Well enough,” Sulvan nodded. “I’m trying to not be frustrated with my progress. Or lack of progress.”

“I only recently learned that I was cheating from the start,” Theo said. “Champion of Drogramath and all that.”

“The order suspected you were his champion. But champions usually sing their own praises from the highest towers.”

Theo wanted to keep as far away from that topic as possible. His way of dealing with ditching an old life was to never talk about it, pretending it didn’t exist in the first place. “You’re doing Glantheir proud.”

“He tells me as much. Whispers into my dreams, mostly.”

“I have to go out of my way to talk to Drogramath,” Theo chuckled.

Sulvan walked in time with Theo, the smile still lingering on his face. “He’s like a loving father. Compared to the Eye…”

“If I could make cores, I’d give you one,” Theo said with a wink.

“I have a feeling Glantheir can provide my atonement better than you.”

“Too true.”

“Where are you heading? Did we just walk in a circle?”

“Ah. The butcher. I have a lot of buildings to visit, but I like Whisper. She’s nice.”

“Most bear-folk are.”

From what Theo had seen, that was true. He could only hope that they were truly safe up in their mountain homes. Benton claimed that his people were fine, but it was hard to say. The undead themselves were falling as a threat, but the corruption they left behind was a constant reminder.

Sulvan placed a hand on Theo’s shoulder after a few moments of silence. That same smile still lingered on his face. “Have you actually forgiven me?”

Theo paused on the road. “I was assured that the price for going against Glantheir was steep. Only someone who wanted to change would take his core.”

“Cores,” Sulvan said with a nod. “Just checking. Have fun with the butcher.”

Sulvan departed without another word. He had a spring in his step as he went.

Whisper’s Butcher was located to the west of the town square near both the Adventurer’s Guild and Sledge’s Sawmill. The building was only Level 10 with the Keen Knives upgrade that increased the effectiveness of butchering, and Dry Room which added a new room to the building. Whisper didn’t seem to care that her building was at a low level. When Theo entered the Butcher she simply nodded and continued to process a wolf. She was skillful with the knife to the point where the alchemist considered her combat potential. The alchemist shook his head, dislodging thoughts of a combat butcher from his mind.

The butcher didn’t stop working as Theo upgraded her building. While the interior should have smelled of blood and butchered wolves, none of the scent penetrated the extreme cold within. As a toora, Whisper kept the interior as cold as was physically possible with Throk’s air conditioners. The building soon reached Level 15, prompting the alchemist to select a new upgrade. He reviewed the new offering, reading it off to the busy woman.

[Bonus Items]

Depending on the level of this Butcher, butchered creatures may contain additional loot.

“May I keep the items?” she asked.

Theo shrugged. “Sure.”

“That one.”

Theo continued his process after selecting the Bonus Items upgrade. The building grew in random directions, adding a healthy amount of space to the interior. Whisper didn’t stop her butchering. She didn’t even raise her head to see what he was doing. The building hit Level 20 before long, presenting them with another option. Theo read it aloud.

[Purification]

Creatures butchered in this building are less likely to carry parasites, diseases, etc. Also allows the butchering of naturally poisonous, or otherwise toxic creatures depending on the level of the butcher.

Whisper had to think about that one for a minute. She even stopped her butchering, tapping her knife on the massive butcher’s block as she thought. After a minute of contemplation, she shrugged.

“That one.”

Theo obeyed, selecting the Purification upgrade. He hadn’t heard of people suffering food-borne illnesses in town, so didn’t see the value. But he wasn’t the butcher. The alchemist thought about that as he shoved more cores into the building. Whisper got back to work. The Level 25 upgrade option appeared and he read it out for her.

[Live Storage]

A building appears behind the Butcher. A single living, non-sapient creature may be stored in this building forever. They will not experience time until they are removed.

A grimace spread across Whisper’s face. It was often hard to read the expression of a toora, but Theo could tell she was suddenly pissed off. He held his hands up defensively, ready to disarm whatever situation he had instigated. But after a few steady breaths, she waved her hand in the air and shook her head.

“Not that one.”

“Alrighty. I’ll just read the other two options,” Theo said before reading the other options for her to pick from.

Theo didn’t need to wait long. He read Cold Storage out first, which simply added a way to store meats for a long time. That was useless in the face of dimensional storage. The next one was of some interest to her, though. Spoilage Prevention would allow her to get more meat from each creature she butchered. She selected that one, but seemed too distracted to get back to work. Whisper just glared into the middle-distance. The alchemist tried not to think about the connection between her and the Live Storage upgrade. Perhaps it was just a moral objection. He moved on, inserting more cores into the building to bring it to Level 30.

“Yeah. That’s just weird,” Theo said, reading out the next upgrade. “Do you worship Benton?”

“Don’t like minor gods.”

Theo read the upgrade out for Whisper to consider.

[Touch of Bohor]

Through death comes life. Meat produced in this Butcher will be more sustaining and filling.

Unless there was another Bohor, the upgrade was referring to Benton’s realm. That brought questions about how all this worked. He remembered back to when Khahar told him about interdiction and the way people were connected. Perhaps meeting Benton and forming a friendly bond had enabled the building’s seed core to pull from his realm. There was too much to consider there, and Whisper already had her answer.

“That one.”

Theo selected the upgrade, then inspected the building.

[Butcher]

[Hoary Frost]

Owners: Theo Spencer

Operator: Whisper

Faction: [Southlands Alliance]

Level: 30 (15%)

Rent Due: SUSPENDED

Expansions:

[Keen Knives]

[Drying Room]

[Bonus Items]

[Purification]

[Spoilage Prevention]

[Touch of Bohor]

Theo chuckled. He had misheard the name of the building the first time. Whisper was satisfied with the upgrades, simply nodding as the alchemist left the building. He headed out onto the street, stretching and looking around. Sledge still wasn’t working the Sawmill. There was very little activity outside of the Adventurer’s Guild. Adding to the dullness of the day, there wasn’t even much going on in the administrative screens. There were a few more reports about monster attacks underground, but that was it. Standard monster dogs spawning amongst the ore, quickly put down by Aarok’s men.

The calmness of the day brought a sense of foreboding to the alchemist’s mind. He shivered when he thought of the city approaching his alliance. With all the spies feeding him information, he was confident in their defenses. Theo made his way away from the Butcher, shaking those intrusive thoughts away as he searched for the next thing to do.