The Newt and Demon

Theo woke the next morning with one thing on his mind. During his time in the Dreamwalk, with Tresk’s constant interruptions, he realized this was a chance to understand which potions would be most useful for adventurers. He could simply take a poll to figure out which worked best for them, but people rarely knew what they wanted. In the dreaming realm, he could experiment forever without getting tired. As he walked with Tresk to eat their breakfast, his mind rolled over the possibilities.

Bombs were obvious. They came in as many flavors as he could think of and took modifiers well. For drinkable potions, there were too many to count. His plan was to root attackers with the Freezebomb, then pop a few potions to let him escape. [Lesser Barksin Potions] would have been useful, but they diminished the imbiber’s speed. [Lesser Sprinting Potions] were obvious, as were the potions that increased stats. Theo wanted to put his mind to the problem, brewing the most potent of these potions to ease Tresk’s worries. If she saw him put genuine effort into the problem, she’d go back to doing dungeons.

“[Roc Berries] have a [Retreat] property,” Theo said as they sat down in the tavern.

The Marsh Wolf Tavern was busier than normal. Most citizens of Broken Tusk didn’t eat breakfast at the tavern, but since it was paid for they seemed more likely to do so. Alise caught their attention, coming to have a seat with them and breaking Theo’s train of thought for a moment. Only then did he realize how obsessed he was over the issue, mentally kicking himself as to not do the town a disservice. The woman seemed bubbly today, sitting down and settling in with a smile on her face.

“I made a deal with a trader,” Alise said, setting something down on the table. Theo recognized it as a [House Seed Core]. “No, I didn’t overpay.”

“Why do we need more houses?” Tresk asked, tapping her foot impatiently. Theo could tell she was hungry. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t.

“We had an influx of people joining the town,” Alise said with a curt nod. “Almost 70 citizens.”

The last time Theo checked, it was somewhere around 50. A sudden flash of concern spread through his body. Those assassins Tresk exposed him to weren’t doing him any favors.

“Think they would mind signing a basic contract?” Theo asked.

“A few of your powers extend to me,” Alise said, her grin growing broader. “They’ve already signed something to the effect of I shall not destroy Broken Tusk, her interests, blah blah.”

Alise was his subordinate in the administration structure of Broken Tusk. The advantage of his [Governance Core] was the sharing of abilities. His combat-related abilities went directly to the military structure, such as his tactical map, and his administration-related abilities went to his helpers. Alise was for more than just a helper, he knew that. If the laborers and craftspeople of Broken Tusk were the muscle and bones, she was the blood. She was the person who kept everything running, leaving high-level decisions to Theo but managing the day-to-day things that would burden him quickly.

“Perfect,” Theo said, leaning back as a server came with his food and tea. “How are we distributing them?”

“No business at breakfast,” Tresk said, glowering.

“If we don’t do business at meals, business won’t get done,” Theo said. Tresk bristled, but he felt her concede to his words.

“They’re being distributed based on skill and experience,” Alise said, smiling as her food was delivered as well. She took a bite, swallowing the delicious, cheesy food before continuing. “More concerns about childcare are springing up.”

“That’s understandable,” Theo said. “Can we fund something like that?”

“With our current deals, yes,” Alise said. “I’ve secured a contract with that gentleman from Qavell, but it was a pittance. He wasn’t as illustrious as he claimed. We can claim the adventurer’s tax, but I think that’s a mistake.”

“Agreed. That should stay with them,” Theo said. “Last time I was in a pinch, Aarok was more than happy to help fund the defense of the city.”

“Why don’t people just pay for childcare?” Tresk asked, snorting a laugh. “If you got 10 kids, charge the people 1 copper a head.”

Theo had never thought of it like that. Even if it was something as insignificant as a single copper per child, per day, the town could supplement that. He spotted Zan’sal, a resident adventurer and member of the Khahari race. They were desert cat-people, as far as he knew, hailing from a continent to the east. He knew little about the continent, only what his cores wanted to whisper to him, but she was an honest person. She also had a child, something that often impeded her adventuring. He waved her over.

The first thing he noticed about Zan’sal was that she acted rather sheepish. It was as though she’d wronged him, although he couldn’t remember if she’d done anything recently. Both she and her husband, Zan’kir, kept to themselves in the adventurer’s district of town. She averted her gaze, staring at the floor and performing a rigid bow.

“How much would you pay for daily childcare?” Theo asked, sweeping his suspicions under the rug.

Zan’sal seemed surprised about the question, searching the faces of Alise and Tresk before meeting his gaze. Theo narrowed his eyes. His intuition went wild when she looked into his eyes, a kind of guilt burning hard. He made a mental note but wouldn’t act.

“10 copper. At least that much,” Zan’sal said after a long moment. “If Kir and I could hit the dungeon, we could afford to pay a lot more.”

Theo turned to Alise and nodded. Zan’sal seemed to take that as a dismissal, slinking away but not unnoticed by the alchemist.

“Take the temperature of that price,” Theo said. “See if everyone else with kids will pay for it. Plan for a school, anyway. Use a [Seed Core House], or a specialized building if you can find it. Find the perfect nursemaid for our kids.”

Alise nodded. Theo sensed a swell of pride in her chest. She was always so absurdly good at her job, he often found himself to be useless for the day-to-day things. But that’s where the alchemist shined. Taking care of the large decisions that were hard to make. It was more a matter of taking suggestions from the townsfolk and applying their ideas for the betterment of the town, but it could be difficult. Only after the thought had lingered in the air enough did Theo notice Zan’sal slipping away, his intuition and cores singing that something was fishy.

What have Zan’sal and Zan’kir been up to? Theo asked Tresk through their private communication.

He never suspected them of anything nefarious, because bringing a child to the town meant they had something to lose.

Running the dungeons, Tresk said, narrowing her eyes on the Khahari woman slinking away. Your suspicions are flooding through the core, buddy. Anything you want to share.

Just a feeling, Theo said, knowing that his feel for things was often accurate. Tail her for the day, if you can.

I love sneaking around and spying on people, Tresk said, letting out an audible sigh. She vanished from her seat as the Khahari woman slipped out the door.

“The moment someone gets a travel power, they use it. Constantly,” Alise said, shaking her head. “What else do we need to do?”

Even with Theo’s amazing memory, things often slipped through the cracks. He could recall anything he’d heard or seen at a whim, but that didn’t mean his mind was constantly lingering on those topics. If he didn’t try to remember, how would he remember?

“Increase production, get a town hall, help Throk with his pipe system,” Theo said. “I’m sure I’m missing something, but that’s all I can remember.”

“Right. I’m off,” Alise said, standing and departing without saying another word.

Theo had a few plans for the day. He finished his food and tea and departed for the quarry. It was a reach to assume he could create anything useful with his alchemy constructs, but it started with good materials. His [Drogramath Alchemy Core] sent waves of approval through his body when he thought about the high-quality stone produced at Ziz’s quarry. Laden with [Dexterity] gear, the alchemy made amazing time to the quarry. Compared to his ponderous way of movement before the equipment, he was now moving at an absurd clip.

Ziz Rotgut originally worked for Perg. He and his gang of 4 laborers were her muscle, hauling fetid hides around and moving them through the stages of animal hide processing. Ziz always kept his head shaved, exposing his red, almost pink scalp. He was shorter than most Half-Ogres, but the broadness of his shoulders made up for that. The roundness of his belly didn’t help matters in having him stand apart from his kin, but like most Half-Ogres he was kind and hard working.

“Theo!” Ziz shouted, trundling over to scoop the alchemist up into a hug.

The quarry rested at the foot of a small mountain. Theo was never sure whether he should call it a large hill or a small mountain, but the terrain was rocky and sat high enough to give a splendid view of the town. The quarry itself was little more than a boundary marker, designating the sloped pit. White stone caught the light of a cloudless sun, seams of gems cutting through the layers. A woodcutter’s shack sat near the hole, larger than the alchemist remembered it but still quite small.

“Looks as though the stone is regenerating,” Theo said, finally released from the man’s powerful grip.

“We have a few upgrades,” Ziz said, grinning. “How have you been?”

Theo updated him on the discovery of alchemical constructs, detailing his theory about the stone. Putting his theories into words made him realize he only had half the truth, and more questions than anyone on this planet could answer.

“That’s funny,” Ziz said, retreating into the stoneworker’s shop to retrieve a ledger. “I had a wizard stop by, not our wizard, to buy some stone. Said something about using them to bind spells.”

“Would you mind cutting me a few blocks?” Theo asked, gesturing to the stack of stone outside of the shack.

“How big?”

“Quarter halm by eighth halm,” Theo said, feeling a swell of pride for using a standardized measuring system for once.

“Huh?” Ziz asked.

Theo approximated the measurements for the Half-Ogre. It would be a rectangle of stone, small enough to fit in his hand for ease of experimentation. The thickness didn’t matter, but as Ziz got to work the alchemist instructed him to make it no thicker than the width of his hand. When a craftsman worked on something, the system gave them an amount of wiggle room. He didn’t need to chip away at the stone to make a shape. The stoneworker simply smacked a chisel with a hammer on one spot, and the block split into sheets.

“How about that?” Ziz asked.

The sections he made were perfect. They were small enough to fit into Theo’s hand, but thick enough to soak up a lot of essence. As expected, the quality of the stone was perfect. The more pieces he had for experimentation, the better.

“Absolutely perfect,” Theo said, taking 100 small stone slabs into his inventory. “I can see this method of alchemy benefiting everyone, but I sense it’s a long way off.”

Ziz shrugged. “Whatever works. Looks like exports are going to make up most of your income.”

“That’s the town’s income,” Theo said. “Speaking of, I appreciate the stone you’re donating.”

“Ah, well,” Ziz said, rubbing his sweaty, bald head. “Don’t worry so much about that.”

Spoken like a true Half-Ogre. Theo and Ziz talked for some time about little things, such as both their advancement. The alchemist would hit level 13 with both his Drogramath cores soon, while his [Governance Core] still lagged behind. The Dreamwalk had done wonders for his advancement, but his administration-based core couldn’t level there, not from what he’d seen. He mentioned none of this to Ziz, preferring to keep his Tara’hek abilities as secret as possible.

Theo departed, finding his way to the heart of the town. Every day, near the imposing monolith which represented the center of town, a portal opened. Broken Tusk’s resident wizard opened it daily for the adventurers, giving them a quick and safe route to the [Swamp Dungeon]. When the cool mana of the portal washed over the alchemist this time, he braced himself but felt none of the horrible effects. Previously taking the portal, he found himself sprawled on the ground for minutes at a time. This time it was as though he passed through a cold waterfall, then suddenly found himself standing in a stone tower, the effects of an eccentric Planar Mage hanging from the walls.

The tower was protected with powerful wards that sent monsters away or killed them outright. Theo made his way to the top of the tower, finding Xol’sa sanding and adjusting some magical device. The alchemist saw why those wards were needed, looking down into a mass of monsters beating themselves against his defenses. Monsters appeared not only in monster waves. From Theo’s understanding they could appear anywhere there was magic, and since the swamp was filled with more Drogramathi magic than any place on the planet, they spawned in droves here.

“Yes, who is it?” Xol’sa said. That struck Theo as odd. The wizard normally recognized him with some manner of magical senses, as though he was expecting him before he arrived.

“Just your friendly mayor. Coming to pick your brain,” Theo said.

Xol’sa turned around, startled. He was an extra-planar Elf, the Bara’their, with stark white skin that bore seams of blue energy. The pattern on his skin seemed to shift, but Theo never understood what caused the tapestry to shift. The Elf looked at him for a long time before responding, squinting his eyes and scanning him up and down. After a moment, he turned back to his work.

“Something is different about you,” Xol’sa said, prodding a piece of wood into a strange copper device.

“I changed nothing,” Theo said, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Theo withdrew one of Ziz’s stones from his inventory, a clean empty open-topped flask, and a beaker of his [Reveal Essence]. He placed the stone inside, drawing the Elf’s attention again through the clanging of stone against glass.

Uninvited, the wizard came to sit on the hard stone and observe the reaction. Theo could tell the essence liked the marble better than the garden rock he used the last time. He could also tell the effect was far less potent outside of his lab, and he made a mental note.

“What’s that?” Xol’sa asked.

“I wanted to ask you that,” Theo said. He explained how alchemy constructs worked, to the best of his knowledge. Wizards were often a trove of knowledge.

“Yes, wizards have access to a similar skill,” Xol’sa said. “My senses say you’re not doing it right, but I suppose you know that.”

Theo nodded to the Elf, smiling. “Naturally.”

The personality trait the pair shared was the excitement of experimentation. Xol’sa was the foremost expert on all matters related to extra-planar energy interaction, even at level 20. The Elf’s claim was that he was the most knowledgeable about the subject on the planet, but Theo doubted it. There were places neither of them had seen in the world, opening up infinite possibilities for powerful [Planar Mages].

“I understand this in concept, no further. Magic-users can place a spell in an object, activating it later. Constructs can become devilishly complex. Artifices, for example, are a cousin to constructs,” Xol’sa said, watching as the stone stopped bubbling in the essence. “I think it’s done.”

Theo withdrew a pair of treated tongs from his inventory, withdrew the stone and put everything else back into his inventory. Before carrying on, he inspected the new construct to confirm his theory about stone quality influencing the end product.

[Reveal Construct]

[Alchemy Construct]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Emits a constant field of [Reveal] as long as the construct is powered.

Material:

Stone (Perfect Quality)

Effect:

Creates a 20 halm bubble around the construct that removes stealth from any target.

“Much better,” Theo said. “Can you drip some mana into it? I don’t have that much control over mine, yet.”

“I can help you with that,” Xol’sa said, smiling. The Elf rarely smiled. “If you’d like to do some training.”

“I would,” Theo said, gesturing to the stone.

Xol’sa smiled and held his hand out, palm down. Mana built up on the man’s hand, dripping onto the construct. Unlike Theo’s mana, the [Planar Mage’s] mana resembled the seams of blue on his skin, shifting as the drops fell on the device. After only a moment, the field sprung to life. It consumed them in a bubble, tingling over their skin.

“Ah, I can already sense the weakness,” Xol’sa said, pointing at the construct. Small cracks were forming in the center of the hewn marble, tracing a spider-web throughout its structure. The pair observed for minutes until the stone finally shattered.

“That lasted a while, compared to my last one,” Theo said, explaining his last setup.

“Quality goes a long way, but there’s something else,” Xol’sa said. “A few flaws in the design. First, it targets everyone. Second, there’s no power regulation method. Third, the magical instructions in the stone are incomplete.”

Theo understood the first two problems with no explanation. “How are the instructions incomplete?”

“I don’t think you’re meant to use the essence that way,” Xol’sa said. “Gambling is for fools who wish to dispose of their coin, but I’d bet a gold that you missed a step.”

Theo nodded. That made enough sense to him, he was improvising with this essence as it was. Essences rarely interacted with something without first going through a transformation process. The detergent-style potions needed to be mixed with water in precise quantities, bridging the gap of their power with another essence. Potion-style reactions were performed in a one-to-one reaction between [Purified Water] and an essence combined with a catalyst. The alchemist was amazed this even worked, in hindsight.

“I suspect you might need a live medium to make this work,” Xol’sa said. “But that’s just a guess. Now, would you care to practice summoning your mana?”

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