The Newt and Demon - Book 5 Chapters 62,63,64 (Patreon)

Chapter 62

Silly Splicing

“We could try something silly,” Salire said, kneeling to pat the marshling children on the head. They giggled.

“I’m feeling pretty silly. What do you have?”

“Attribute reagents. Let’s smash them together and see what happens.”

That wasn’t a horrible idea. Attribute reagents were all flowering plants, which should meld together. They might fight against one another because of their innate alignments, but even in that wheel of elements there were complimentary things. Theo could imagine fire and earth getting along well, while fire and water wouldn’t. Some scholar would have already created an elemental wheel, but the alchemist relied on his mental estimation of the task. Wisdom of the Soul was there to support his thoughts with a brief message.

“My Wisdom of the Soul ability says we should try Flame Roses and Stone Flowers first.”

“I vote we follow your wisdom.”

Theo left Salire in the workshop to play with the children while he collected samples from the greenhouses. He gave new instructions to his golem there, finding it easier by the day to manipulate them. Halting by the door with two plants in hand, he scanned his lodestone network with his willpower. The Metal Golems were more willful than the other ones. They had formed a mob and were marching to the mine. There was some kind of monster surge in that area, forcing the miners to evacuate. The golems had responded faster than Aarok, and would likely clear the area with speed.

“I need more golems,” Theo said, giggling to himself. It felt good to exploit things like this.

As Theo made his way back to the workshop, he remembered squad composition back on Earth. He spent little time in the ‘regular’ army, but remembered they contained people with different specializations. An army of Metal Golems alone wouldn’t be great, so he intended to break the ones he had created into squads and add different golems to their ranks to spice things up. He shook the thought loose as he entered the workshop, placing the whole plants on the work table. Salire dragged herself away from the children, watching as the alchemist spliced the reagents together.

“This is locked behind a skill, right?” Salire asked.

“Like most things, you could do this without a core. But I doubt it would hold. Perhaps I just have a black thumb, but I’ve never been good with plants.”

Theo took the base of one plant, the Flame Rose, and grafted it onto the top part of the Stone Flower. Mana soaked into the place between the plants, fusing them together. All plants were weak after a splicing, no matter how well they got along. The rocky leaves of the Stone Flower wilted, drooping downward. The alchemist rushed it out back, planting it in the Experimental Garden Plot before it could wither away completely. He worked with the settings in the garden’s interface, creating the perfect environment for the plant to grow. Unlike the Night’s End plant, he allowed it to experience the normal flow of time.

“The plant should change,” Theo said, mounding dirt near the base of the newly spliced plant. “But it worked. We have a new hybrid.”

Theo had expected what came next. Another Loremaster had already discovered this hybrid, which wasn’t a surprise. There were several plants only native to the area, but he doubted the Flame Rose and Stone Flower were among them. He inspected the new hybrid plant.

[Magma Bloom]

[Alchemy Ingredient] [Hybrid Plant]

Rare

Found near active volcanoes, this plant feeds from molten rock to nourish itself. Discovered by Jamsen Albarat on the third day of the second month, 1248 Era of Darkness.

Properties:

[????] [????] [????]

“Yeah, but what is the Era of Darkness?” Salire asked. “Magma plants are fine and all, but I wanna know about the Jamsen guy.”

Just because one culture called an era of the world one thing, didn’t mean others would. That was interesting enough. “Good question. I’m interested to see if this will burn my greenhouse down.”

“That’s one way of looking at it. How long is this going to take to finish?”

The Magma Bloom was more stubborn than some others. “No clue. Better to leave it to do its work.”

“Next!” Salire shouted, looking back at the Newt and Demon. Smoke was still coming from the windows, although it had lessened. “I think we have time.”

The next combination was wind and water, which seemed obvious enough. Theo went back to the greenhouses, gathering a Wind Tulip plant and a Water Lily plant. Instead of picking out all the plants he wanted to work with for the day, he planned to go back and forth. By the time he returned to the workshop, the little marshlings were gone. The alchemist planned to lock the door this time, if only to discourage the scamps from playing near dangerous things. That seemed to be the life of a kid growing up in Broken Tusk, though. Poking turtles and getting stuck in logs were all the rage.

As expected, the two plants created a hybrid easily enough. Theo felt resistance when he started, finding that Wind and Water weren’t as close of friends as he had expected. The leaves drooped worse than the last experiment. Instead of waiting, the alchemist rushed it out to the Experimental Garden Plot and planted it, dialing in the settings and observing. The leaves perked up a bit, and the spot where he had fused the two plants together became solid.

“Another one,” Salire said, tapping her chin. “Who are all these Loremasters and what happened to them? This guy seems deranged. Did he write a poem in the description of a reagent?”

Theo inspected the plant, not wanting to miss out on any juicy Loremaster gossip.

[My Dear Sweet Love]

[Alchemy Ingredient] [Hybrid Plant]

Rare

My dear Groxlagan. On the summer’s breath I found you, laying in a field. Amongst the Thropton, a sight so cute I reeled. I’ll fall upon your scaly bosom and truly be a man.

[????] [????] [????]

“It might be my turn to vomit,” Theo said, dismissing the screen. “That is the worst item description I have ever seen. Full stop—this dude professed his love to a lizard-girl with a flower. How cliche is that?”

“I don’t know,” Salire said with a weak shrug. “Some girls might like that kind of thing.”

“Oh, god. Don’t tell me this would work on you.”

Salire offered a shy smile. “It would one-hundred percent work on me. Until the lovesick frogopus eyes wore off, and I realized people would read a love letter on an item description until the end of time.”

Theo had no desire to witness what a lovesick frogopus looked like, let alone their eyes during such a time. He prayed to every god he could think of that there was a way to undo what a loremaster had done, but knew it wasn’t likely. The worst part was that he now had to think of the reagent as My Dear Sweet Love. What a pain. But the smoke had lessened from within the lab. He buttoned his coat, pulling it over his mouth as the pair headed to the Newt and Demon. They entered, swiping vials of Cleansing Scrub through the air as though banishing demons.

“The power of Drogramath compels you,” Theo said, splashing Cleansing Scrub on the wall. “Begone foul stench.”

“Begone!” Salire parroted.

Theo was feeling lighter than ever after Zan’kir’s idea to attack Qavell early. They could hear the faint snap of the rail guns in the bay, once again bombarding the city. Tresk and Alex were sending reports to the city, adjusting firing lines and updating everyone on the status of the city. Qavell had taken off during the night, plodding over the waves in last night’s darkness. But the moment dawn came, and the flying spotters got out there, it was once again sent to the waves. As Qavell languished in the salty water, Broken Tusk prepared to take it by force.

Salire led the way upstairs, splashing the cleaning potion along the way. It took them a while to get all three floors smelling good. But when they were done, it was the cleanest the building had ever been, only rivaled by the time when the lab was planted. However long ago that was.

“This is all on you,” Salire said, gesturing to the stills. “If i touch the third tier reaction, we’re going to have more to worry about than a stinky lab.”

Theo nodded, getting to work on the next phase of brewing. Five stills were filled to the top with unbound dilutions, so he went between them and bound them with his mana. Next, he prepared five more stills, transferring the liquid between them in perfect quantities and kicking off the next process. Instead of heading off to do something else, he remained there to study the heating cycles they needed to do. Salire took notes as he observed each still, adjusting the heating elements by intuition.

This kind of research was boring to do, but required if they wanted to get a decent grade out of the potions. The alchemist went between the stills for several hours, keeping up with Tresk’s reports in the administrative screen. Qavell had activated a shield that prevented the shots from hitting, and they were running out of his mana-sucking warded shots.

“Could you fetch me some Drogramathi Iron Shots?” Theo asked, holding his hand out.

Salire placed her notebook in his hand and nodded. “How many?”

Theo checked her notes, finding that she had created rows and columns to track the heating. “As many as Throk will give you. Oh, while you’re there could you buy all Throk’s Tworgnothi Copper Batteries and Tworgnothi Copper Siphon Artifices?”

“Yep!” Salire said, dashing off.

Once she was gone, Sarisa stepped from the shadows. Theo often forgot she was there. “I could have done that.”

“Let the girl get some air,” Theo said, waving the fumes out of his face. He made a note for a heating adjustment on the still containing the Limited Foresight batch. “This place is foul right now.”

“Thoughts on the approaching city?” Sarisa asked.

Theo looked up from the notes after jotting a timing note down. He forced a smile onto his face. “I’m nervous. I have a feeling that we need Fenian to win. And Fenian isn’t here.”

“You read Tresk’s latest report, right? They have guns of their own. Almost clipped her with a shot.”

“Yet they didn’t think to bombard us. Which means they’re short-range weapons, or they’re idiots.”

“I’m leaning to the theory that they’re moronic. Or King Hanan is hamstringing the operation.”

“I’m on team Hanan. He’s not his father.”

“Well, there’s one question I have. Are you prepared to swing the sword if the time comes?”

Sarisa was asking him if he could kill King Hanan if it came to that. He would do so without mercy. Things were balanced on too thin of a knife’s edge to worry about that. Sending a person’s soul to the heavens was easier to do than convincing them to do the right thing. But the alchemist knew it wouldn’t come to that. His intuition said that if they destroyed the monster controlling Qavell, everything would be peaches and sunshine. 

Theo expanded his willpower, covering the room and shielding them from prying eyes. Sarisa shivered, shooting him an annoyed glare. “We’ll see how far my new weapon gets me. Let me make a call.”

Theo withdrew the communication crystal from his inventory, squeezing it tightly in his hand. He felt the haptic buzz in his mind as it called Fenian.

“Alchemist! My dear, sweet alchemist.”

“How are the pirates?”

“As drunk as ever! Have you ever sailed with a band of drunk elven pirates? No? It isn’t enjoyable, I’ll tell you that much. I’ve mopped up enough vomit for one lifetime and plan to take a long vacation after this.”

“We got a wrench in the works,” Theo said. Fenian was aware of Qavell, but hadn’t been briefed properly.

“A what in the where?”

Theo explained what they were up against. Fenian listened along as though he knew nothing, but was quick to answer with the truth.

“I’m well aware of that miscreant, Theo. There are some implications as to the old holder of my Throne, King Karasan, and I believe Khahar will be properly pissed off.”

“So, you can beat it?”

“Absolutely. So long as I can arrive before you’ve been destroyed.”

“Why can’t Uz’Xulven enchant your boat? Make it go over the bridge?”

“Because she’s mad at me, my dear friend. Like a scorned lover, she thinks I’ve wronged her. Threatened to take my cores and everything. Could you imagine?”

“Of course. How long are you going to be?”

“A few days. We ran into some problems near Tarantham, turning this week-long voyage into something a bit longer. But we’re at a good clip now. Strong enchantments here on the Godslayer—gods what a name. You can expect us in a few days. Right at the last moment, I think.”

“Keep me updated, alright?” Theo asked.

“Sure. Of course. Ah, I have to go. Another grog drinking contest. Farewell!”

The connection was cut before Theo could say his farewells. It was stable, considering that the communication crystal was piercing through his shadow-infused willpower. There were likely implications that the crystal was connected with his soul, making his aura an antenna rather than a dampening field. The alchemist didn’t care to consider those facts right now, turning his attention to Sarisa’s expectant face.

“Fenian is close. The Herald will save us. I’m sure about it.”

“There he goes again,” Sarisa sighed. “Putting all his faith into an elf.”

“I have no confidence that I can kill it on my own. Maybe I could wrap my willpower around it and drag the thing to Tero’gal… Or the Bridge. I could do what the Bara’thier did and break a chunk of the mortal realm off.”

Sarisa’s confused expression shifted to disgust. “You could do that?”

Theo knew he could do that. But the section of reality he could break off was small, only a fraction of the bubble he could make with his willpower. He knew it because he had seen it in the future, thanks to the Holy infused Potion of Limited Foresight.

“Yeah. Best not to worry about it yet.”

“Yet? Are you seriously planning to send part of our world into the void?”

“Yeah. One day. But I’m not strong enough. I have to find the lost Bara’thier first to bring the shards they stole back. These things are connected. They have to be.”

“And you’re just telling people now?”

Theo gestured to the bubble around them. “This is the first time I can speak freely outside of the Dreamwalk. Do I have to tell you not to repeat this?”

“No, I can keep a secret. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Me too.”

Chapter 63

Pass the Pie!

After Salire returned to the lab, they were prepared to start the brewing process. All third tier potions needed some time to brew within a flask. She helped set up the large glass flasks on the table and performed mass reactions for their potions. Theo was the one who needed to drop the catalyst into each flask, otherwise an explosive disaster would strike the lab. After the reactions were complete, it was only a matter of waiting.

“I’m off to Tero’gal,” Theo said, patting Salire on the back. “We did good today.”

“I think so!” Salire said, holding up her notebook. I’d be shocked if these were Good Grade, and not Great or Excellent.”

“Hooray,” Sarisa put in, completely flat.

Theo let himself fall through the veil between the realms. He passed over the Bridge, not wanting to disrespect Uz’Xulven anymore than he already had. But something tugged at him, drawing him in a different direction. He tried to force his willpower against whatever pulled him, but couldn’t overpower it. The alchemist swallowed hard as he realized the one person who could do that. A moment later, his feet hit the rolling fields of Khahak. He stood outside of the Arbiter’s Citadel, which rose into the clouds above. A stream of people, who were mostly Khahari, walked along the road.

In a snap, Theo was standing in a room. Polished marble was on every surface with a massive wooden table sitting before a window that spanned twenty feet into the air. While it didn’t need the extra light, the room was lit by magical lanterns on the walls. Khahar stood, staring out of the window.

“How is Zaul?” he asked, not bothering to turn around. “I haven’t visited Und in a while.”

“He’s good,” Theo said, sauntering around the table. If Khahar was pissed, it wouldn’t work to throw himself on the ground and beg for forgiveness. That’s not what Yuri liked about people. “Gave me this fancy core so you can’t spy on me.”

“I can still spy on you,” Khahar said, looking over his shoulder and smiling. “Just not as well.”

“I’m not concerned about you spying on me, though. I don’t trust the other gods completely. Not with the mortal realm.”

“That’s a smart position to hold, Theo.”

“Is Zaul trying to use me?”

“No, he’s too insane for that. He saw something in you he liked, so he gave you the core you needed. I allowed him to break the rules to make it, so I know what it does.”

Theo sighed, falling into Khahar’s chair. It wasn’t comfortable. At all. “Does it ever get boring? Knowing everything and being all-powerful?”

“No, because I’m not as strong as you think. I’m uniting the heavens because there are outside forces pressing in. That’s what I wanted to talk about.”

“The Bara’thier?”

“No. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but the thing forcing King Hanan to attack is a vestige. You remember the Harbinger, right?”

“How could I forget?”

“That entity is a piece of another Harbinger. They’re an entire race—if you could call them that—which create universes. The Harbinger brought us here, but the other guy had already messed this place up. He wanted us to fix it, but we couldn’t stop fighting. For sixty-thousand years we fought. I spent fifty-thousand of those years preparing for now. And here we are.”

So Khahar was feeling wistful about his time meditation for a thousand years at a time. He had gathered enough power to overthrow the status quo and hoisted himself on them like a yoke. Theo knew they needed it. The gods had segmented themselves into pantheons before retreating to their comfortable corners. They waged wars that lasted thousands of years on the mortal realm, and hundreds of thousands in the heavens.

“So the thing pushing Hanan forward is… what? An echo?”

“Something like that.”

“And I can kill it?”

“Maybe. But Fenian can. He possesses the Throne of the Herald. The single being meant to keep the mortal world safe. He has the authority to smite anything that goes against the Monitor System’s rules.”

“So this guy creates the system and this universe, then what? He died and left part of himself behind?”

“Exactly. God, Theo. This is complicated, alright? Something happened on Earth well before the Harbinger arrived. The other guy tried to transmigrate the planet but failed. Of all things, he was stopped by a human. It gets worse, though. That human’s soul is in the queue.”

“The what? Why are you being so straightforward—this isn’t like you.”

“I’m laying the groundwork for when you take your throne. The creature the harbinger killed took souls from our world and put them in a queue. They get released on a schedule that he determined before this place was even made. You were the second-newest soul to get released.”

“Back it up. An Earthling came after I was? Where is he? Or she.”

Khahar smiled that warm smile. “I have that under control.”

“This is great information. I really appreciate you finally pulling me in, but why now? Yeah, I’m supposed to take the Throne of the Dreamwalker. Because you need someone to go through the heavens and fix broken stuff. Blah blah. So on. But why now?”

Khahar paused for a long time. He gazed out the window as his thoughts gathered. “Can I admit I’m afraid you won’t survive?”

“I’m afraid Broken Tusk won’t survive daily, dude. If you follow your own rules, we’re just waiting for Fenian to save our butts. Again.”

“I suppose we can only pray he is fast enough, then. Perhaps I should talk to the gods that control the wind and the seas some more. They weren’t receptive the last time.”

“Good idea. And maybe we should have more meetings like this. We can loop every current and future throne-holder in on it.”

“That’s not a bad idea. We could meet in Tero’gal. Once Fenian gets back to Broken Tusk.”

That was the Yuri that Theo remembered from Earth. He was always finding ways out of tight spots, and he never did it alone. Unlike most spies, he always had support. The Arbiter of the heavens was looking for friends, despite his new nature of going solo.

“Makes me wonder how many thrones there are. And why they exist.”

“Four. They’re safeguards.”

“Cool. So what’s up with the tower? Compensating for something?”

Khahar blinked slowly, then shook his head. “It was generated by the system. Want a tour?”

Theo shrugged. “Why not?”

Khahar’s realm was interesting to consider, even on a conceptual level. Most gods molded their realm after an ideal, but Khahak was different. This was a place that had been melded with the Throne of the Arbiter so completely that it looked nothing like something Yuri would go for. The landscape was green rolling hills with very few trees to see. Instead, there was a series of roads that connected cities, all with their own citadel. Unlike Tero’gal, this place was tiny. There were three major cities where all the local souls lived. Instead of leisure, the people here documented everything. New souls were not invited in freely.

The buildings were all made of the same glimmering stone. Those stones reminded Theo of the white marble in Broken Tusk with seams of silver running through them. Each stone seemed magically reactive, crackling as he drew closer. Folks in the area avoided his gaze, keeping their heads down as they rushed from place to place. Khahar needed to get out of his realm more often. He had been around his people—people he had effectively created over the years—for far too long.

“This place looks easy to defend,” Theo said, slapping a stone and nodding. “Sturdy, isn’t it?”

“Indeed it is. I’ve been attacked a few times. A few of the lesser Prime Pantheon gods have declared war. They didn’t last long.”

“So, anyway. You wanna go grab some tea? Maybe cookies.”

“Absolutely,” Khahar said. “Why don’t you try interdicting us both?”

“Ah,” Theo said, allowing his willpower to spread out over them. When it rolled over Khahar, he felt a shiver of response that reverberated through his soul. But within that shiver was something he hadn’t expected. Recognition from Khahar, and his willingness to travel. “Here goes nothing.”

Theo interdicted himself and Khahar the way he always had. Reality parted and they fell through the veil, which was much harder to pierce than normal. The Arbiter was interested in how he had done his willpower training, chatting as they fell through nothing as though it were normal. He was impressed the technique was working, and urged the alchemist to find other such ways to expand his power. They landed in Tero’gal shortly after, and stood together as the various archways of gods sprung up.

While the gods assembled for their tea, Theo placed his brewing potions on his work table. He could ask the local spirits to build him a place to do alchemy, but had distanced himself more from that concept by the day. Instead, he would enjoy the company of the gods. Uz’Xulven, Drogramath, Spit, Benton, Khahar, and Glantheir came to today’s tea party, finding seats in the cottage and getting comfortable.

Uz’Xulven gave Theo a sly smile. “Arbiter, may I generate an image of the flagging city?”

Khahar smiled back and nodded. “Theo has people spying on it now. Acting as rangefinders.”

Uz’Xulven swept her hand through the air. Theo felt something rising in the back of his mind and recognized it as a request to use magic within his realm. He gave his permission and a shadowy image appeared above the table. Qavell rested in the waves once again, frozen in time.

“City fall down,” Spit said, laughing and shaking his head. “So stupid.”

“With no casualties. Yet,” Glantheir said.

“How long can they keep this up?” Theo said, leaning in to see the image. “I’ve been bombarding them for a day and a bit.”

“They will falter,” Drogramath said. “The effect you extracted from your work with potions is potent.”

Spit scoffed, throwing his tea cup across the room. Benton winced. “Strong potions? Weak city.”

“I have to agree with the ogre,” Khahar said with a sigh. “If the magical interference wasn’t so bad, they would have made better time. But the design of the hover engines is bad. The new King of Qavell could have taken his city high enough to avoid being spotted. Instead, they track the coast.”

The gods had a lot of opinions about the city, but they shared one sentiment. Qavell would fall. Sooner rather than later. Theo didn’t want it to fall too soon. Once the city was completely disabled, he wanted it. Once it was cleansed, he would propose an alliance with Hanan. The man couldn’t refuse. More than anyone, Hanan would want to join the Southlands Alliance to take the continent back. They would be a lasting alliance until the end. When Khahar cleansed the entire world in fire, Tresk, Fenian, and Theo would be there to save the day. As long as everything went according to plan.

Theo had to thank the wanderer for this. He didn’t care for Balkor, and suspected that few did, but this old piece of him was different. A more hopeful version of the Demon God of Necromancy existed in an age lost to time. Preserved in a long-dead piece of himself, that spirit had found purchase in a vessel. The necromantic energy was waning and the alchemist looked to the west for more allies. Not the elves in Tarantham, but the lost part of Balkor standing in the ruins of Vesta. He was on the path to redemption.

“So, is that wizard still on the moon?” Uz’Xulven asked, giving Theo a look. “Someone should go get him.”

“Kill him,” Drogramath said. “He isn’t worth the effort, Theo.”

“Save him, of course,” Glantheir said with a weak shrug.

“Oh, who cares? Pass the pie!” Spit shouted.

Theo looked to Khahar for advice, but the Arbiter shrugged a response, not willing to make eye-contact. Uharis might be a useful person, but there was too much bad blood.

Conversation with the gods went on for some time. The potions Theo had brewed shouldn’t take much longer to settle down. Most only needed an hour for the reaction to settle, but it wasn’t an hour he wanted to wait for in the mortal realm. The alchemist left the company of the gods, leaving them to their snacks and tea. Rollerblades had gone out of fashion again, but the spirits had modified the cobblestone roads to be smoother. They had created a cement-like putty that sat between the cracks, allowing them to glide over it effortlessly.

Theo toured the village, meeting up with Belgar. The dronon spirit had gained his new form completely by now, and always carried a smile on his face. The alchemist passed him the letter Zarali had written and didn’t mention her lack of participation in interdiction events to Tero’gal. Piercing the veil was bad enough for most people, but the Bridge and the void made almost everyone sick. The effects lingered for quite some time, resulting in headaches and vomiting upon arrival to the mortal world.

The village the spirits had created was more of a town by now. It spanned from the central area, radiating outward in a circular shape. There were mainly homes within the area, but a few artisan workshops had sprung up. Theo wasn’t surprised to learn there was a surface mining operation somewhere distant, as well as logging efforts, food production, and so on. But those spirits in his realm hadn’t developed cores, although he was certain they would do so one day. The spirits performed everything without cores and without magic.

It was weird.

In the face of such a lacking society, things had flourished. Tero’gal enjoyed a rare status, even among the lesser realms, of being untouchable. If another realm were to declare war, they would need approval from the Arbiter. Unless Khahar was pulling some sick joke, that would never happen. The spirits were free to flourish, and everyone got along. It wasn’t a surprise, though. If one spirit didn’t like another, they had a landmass the size of North America to move around. Belgar explained as they watched a half-formed spirit pound metal on an anvil.

“We had a few souls splinter off. I don’t think grudges were established, but a few people weren’t getting along,” Belgar said, wincing as the hammer slammed against the anvil. The sound reverberated, the hammer ringing. “Everyone decided it was best to spread out if you weren’t having a good time. Maybe the happy feelings will fade one day, but I don’t know when.”

“Raw souls are different from people,” Theo said, stepping away from the smith’s workshop. “They’re more… basic. No offense.”

“No, you’re right. That might be a mechanism of your realm, though. We can see reflections of your thoughts, sometimes. You and Tresk.”

“Oh?”

Belgar nodded, leaning against the workshop’s walls. “I can’t wait to have my sister here. For good.”

Theo smiled. He couldn’t wait, either.

Chapter 64

Shadow Wrapped

Theo had reached a bottleneck with his willpower training. Even within the Dreamwalk, he could no longer expand it. The training book that Xol’sa gave him was useful in some ways. The alchemist sat on a stump, looking up from the imagined book to see Tresk and Alex practicing mounted combat. He couldn’t deny that they were getting good at this. Each banking turn, flash of fire, slash of poison, and entangling root was expertly performed. He was left with his thoughts on the way things were progressing, and couldn’t deny the excitement he shared with Salire to see what the new potions had to offer.

New potions weren’t the only thing he looked forward to. Zaul had given him access to powerful abilities that could infuse his potions with extra power. Both Spirit Weaving and Shadow Wrap could impart some of his willpower into potions, which would increase them in some nebulous way. Theo rose from the stump, taking one step to appear near the shore near the beach in Broken Tusk. Tresk and Alex remained behind, fighting right outside the gates of the town.

The problem with a giant floating city was the fall. Theo had already observed the city falling into the water, creating a frightening tidal wave. If the plan was to bring it down for good near the harbor, the wave it created would be damaging. This was another small thing he had to worry about. The little things that came with a magical world often had rippling effects not unlike the fall of a city into the sea. With his Earth Sorcerer’s Core in his chest, he tested how hard it was to create an earthen barrier.

Sand was earth as far as the core was concerned. Theo started by moving large stones from the land, shoving it into the water. That was less effective than he would have liked so he swapped to moving massive mounds of dirt and sand like a great bulldozer. He selected a small section of the bay to test, then extrapolated how much time it would take to complete a solid line to protect the town from an errant wave from the north. If he guzzled mana potions, he could do it in two days. But if he got the town involved, paying for laborers and stonemasons to reinforce the protective mound, it might take a day.

“Problems, problems,” Tresk said with a dramatic sigh. She fanned herself like a damsel. “My poor demon boy has so many problems.”

“No kidding. Got anything to help me with this?”

“Not really,” Tresk shrugged. She leaned in close, stabbing her knife into the earthen barrier. “Nope. Can’t really stab the problem away.”

Theo gave her a lopsided grin, trying and failing not to smile at her antics. “Golems might be the answer,” he said, turning back to his work.

“Not a bad idea,” Alex said, taking to the sky. Tresk looked up at her, slightly offended that she wasn’t brought along for the ride. “That’s quite the span. Magical efforts seem more effective.”

But golems didn’t need to breathe. Theo hadn’t tried to create water golems, but something told him he didn’t have the pieces needed. All materials he had used to create golems were solid and eager to take a containment core. Ice golems made sense, even if they required a Freezing Construct for extended operations. Problems on problems and not a magical elf in sight to fix them all. Or a cat-person with a drinking problem for that matter.

Tresk and Alex helped Theo tweak his approach. They were fighting against both the concept of holding a wave back, and the problem of filling the deep bay all the way to the seabed. The structure under the wall-like section needed to be wide and stable. Sand and dirt weren’t cutting it, but they had few options.

“We’ll be lucky if the barrier stays up as the tide shifts,” Theo said, clicking his tongue.

“Ah, well,” Tresk said, slapping the alchemist on the back. “I’m sure you'll pull some potion out of your butt at the last second to save the day.”

“Thanks, Tresk.”

“I’m here all week. And the weeks after it.”

“Forever,” Alex put in.

No solution was found by the time the Dreamwalk ended. Theo was slightly relieved, presenting the chance to run his ideas past others before proceeding with his plan. He ate breakfast in silence, drafting several messages to people in town to draw up plans. The alchemist proposed the idea to Ziz as though he and his people would be in charge of the project alone, gauging his reaction to the massive job. Of course, he sent a message back almost immediately accepting the job. They would start within the hour.

With the town properly stirred up, Theo made his way to the Newt and Demon to display the new potions. They had stewed long enough in Tero’gal to be properly brewed. He found Salire already working on the third floor, preparing more zee-shine.

“Are you ready?” Theo asked, pulling potions out of his inventory and setting them down. He spread his willpower over the room, gaining a shiver from Salire but shielding them from unwanted eyes.

“Ugh, why are you so sad?” Alise asked, grimacing.

“I’m not sad!” Theo said. “My aura is sad. There’s a difference.”

Filing away the comments he got on the sensation people got from his aura wasn’t a good idea. Inspecting his emotions, Theo didn’t feel sad or depressed. The thing that ran through his mind most of the time was a focused determination to get things done. There was sorrow for his lost world there, but it was a distant pain. At this point it felt like mourning for a person who never existed.

“Anyway,” Theo said, dismissing the subject after his moment of self-reflection. “We have some potions to look at. And some interesting abilities to try out.”

“Which should we do first?”

“We’ll go in order,” Theo said, holding the third tier Greater Limited Foresight Potion up. He inspected it at the same time as Salire.

[Greater Potion of Limited Foresight]

[Potion]

Epic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

For 12 hours after drinking this potion, the next 8 attacks made against you will miss.

Effect:

For 12 hours, all attacks, magical or otherwise, will miss. This potion may be overcome by gross differences in levels. Carries 8 charges.

This was a massive improvement of the second tier version of the potion. The duration and amount of charges double. A doubling wasn’t common in a potion’s effects when it jumped tiers, which was interesting. But they almost never gained additional effects unless combined with new modifiers.

“Very impressive,” Salire said, nodding with approval. “Are you going to use your magic… whatever on this one?”

“Let’s wait until the end.”

The next potion up for testing was the standard, unmodified poison. Poison was an effect that Theo had tested extensively. Since Tresk needed a constant supply, he had added many different modifiers to it. But the standard version was the most important for testing. The alchemist held the vial of third tier poison, inspecting it with Salire.

[Greater Poison]

[Poison]

Common

Created by: Theo Spencer

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Coat your weapon to deal additional damage over time to an enemy.

Effect:

Cripples an enemy, reducing their Dexterity by 8.

Applies a stacking DOT effect based on poison quality. Maximum 15 stacks.

This was a general improvement all around. The poison potion had never displayed specific damage numbers, but both the crippling effect and the amount of stacks had increased. They wouldn’t stock this in the shop, as Tresk would want them all for herself.

“A respectable improvement,” Salire said.

Theo scratched his chin, unsure of the value. “Five more stacks for how many hours of work?”

“It could bind to the other modifiers better than the second tier version,” Salire said with a shrug.

Theo hummed in response, unsure of that claim. Next was the Greater Potion of Assail. They examined it together.

[Greater Potion of Assail]

[Potion]

Rare

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Good Quality

The next physical attack performed by the drinker ignores all resistances.

Effect:

Applies the [Assail] property to the drinker’s next attack. This effect ignores all resistances, regardless of their source.

There was absolutely no change between the second and third tier of this potion. Both Theo and Salire stared at it for some time, trying to puzzle out what had changed. After a bit of thought, the alchemist determined that the increased rank of the potion would overcome some resistances of the target. Salire made a note about that, scratching his thoughts down onto the page.

The Greater Desperate Attack potion was up next, which displayed a slight increase to the amount of health it consumed on use. The original version took an amount of healthy from the imbiber, putting that amount and half as much into their next attack. This new version used sixty percent.

“Woohoo,” Salier said with exactly no joy.

The last potion for today’s inspection was the Greater Rust Bomb. Theo hated everything to do with the grimelings. The ooze they left behind stunk. When that ooze was brewed into essence, everything smelled like raw sewage. Only the Cleansing Scrub potion got it out, and even then something of it was left behind. The alchemist held the Greater Rust Bomb, careful not to slosh it too much.

“Shall we?” he asked.

[Greater Rust Bomb]

[Bomb]

Uncommon

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

Covers the target in a sludge that eats away at all metal.

Effect:

Unless cleared away or purified, this sludge will eat all metal (magical or otherwise) for twenty minutes. The rate of decomposition depends on the rarity of this bomb.

Like the ooze the bomb was created from, Greater Rust Bomb was a devious little bomb. There was no mention about magical or mundane materials, but Theo suspected there was something about the rank of the magical items involved. This was certainly an improvement, but nothing to go crazy over. The alchemist was saving that for the end. Salire made her comments while he selected the two potions to imbue with his willpower. Zaul had given him access to two abilities, both of which should have a similar effect on crafted items. He planned to use Spirit Weaving first, eager to see the effects on the Greater Potion of Limited Foresight.

Theo checked that his aura was still shielding them before invoking the Spirit Weaving skill. Shadows flowed from his hands, wrapping around the vial of the potion. They seemed to probe at the surface, testing to see if it could infuse itself into the glass. After seeing that the glass was a container, it wove itself into the potion itself. Bands of midnight black spread through the potion, stealing the color away from not only the potion but the area around it.

Something left the alchemist after he used the skill. A piece of his willpower now rested in the potion, requiring some concentration to maintain. If his willpower wasn’t such an ocean of power, it would have been a problem.

“That looks ominous,” Salire said.

Theo held the pulsing potion up, inspecting it.

[Greater Potion of Limited Foresight]

[Potion] [Spiritwoven Potion]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

For 12 hours after drinking this potion, the next 8 attacks made against you will miss.

Effect:

For 12 hours, all attacks, magical or otherwise, will miss. This potion may be overcome by gross differences in levels. Carries 8 charges.

Spiritweave effect:

Doubles both the duration and charges of this potion.

Foresight effect now applies to all other attacks not listed (long-distance slaying actions, smiting actions, etc.)

“So this makes a potion overpowered. Got it,” Theo said.

“Immunity to… smiting actions?” Salire said. Her mouth hung open, brows peaked. “How many potions are you going to craft that seem geared to killing gods, Theo?”

“Pairing this potion with a farsight potion is scary,” Theo said, nodding to himself. “Which one should we do next?”

Salire looked around the lab, checking that Theo’s aura still protected them. “Nothing? I don’t want to be smited. Smote? Smotten?”

“Then drink this,” Theo said, holding the potion out with a stupid smile on his face.

Salire took the bottle and drank the potion. “Not sure if I feel better.”

Theo swung at her face without warning. Salire shifted slightly to the side, completely evading the strike.

“Hey! Now I’m down a charge…”

“Fifteen more to go.”

Theo’s joking didn’t land, though. Salire was shaken by the implications of the potion, and displayed some distress after drinking it. The implications were staggering.

“New rule,” Theo said, placing a comforting hand on Salire’s shoulder. “This doesn’t leave the lab. I can’t stop Tresk from scanning my memories, but she won’t share it.”

“Yeah, good idea. Do the gods know about it?”

“Zaul and Khahar. Which has me wondering… Who planned what and what are the implications?”

“Please leave me out of the god fight. I had enough trouble when frogs were my worst enemy.”

“Fair enough.”

Although Theo understood that the concerns of the gods would come down to Broken Tusk soon enough. Once here, it would spread over the entire world. He had a reflexive desire to check in with the Wanderer. Under the effects of this new protection potion, of course. But he pushed that idea to the side, focusing on what he could use to help him now. As he considered which potion to use Shadow Wrap on, he got the feeling that the ability wasn’t as powerful as Spirit Weaving. There would be a lesser version of the Spiritwoven effect on the item. It was the discount version of the more powerful ability.

“Which potion should we test next?” Theo asked.

“I don’t know.”

Theo wasn’t stung by the plain response. Salire needed time to process, and he was happy to give it. After a moment, he snapped his fingers and smiled to himself. “What are we doing? The perfect candidate is the Hallow Ground potion. Right?”

Salire brightened up at that suggestion. Theo was reminded of a time when Rowan poisoned some children to get her mind off of something. She was a half-ogre that needed something to run at.

“Good idea,” she said, scampering off to dig through their stores of potions. “More than a third tier potion, I want to see if your scary ability works on modified potions. Hallow the Soil might make more sense for practical applications, but I’d like to see if it binds to modified potions.”

“Fair enough,” Theo said, smiling at his assistant. The potion she picked left an uncomfortable knot in his stomach.

“Holy has worked so far, so why not this?”

It was the Holy modified Hallow Ground potion. The potion that sent the souls of the dead to the imbiber’s deity's realm for judgment. Theo now felt like Salire felt moments ago. He took the potion and held it for a few moments. Not wanting to be a hypocrite, he activated the Shadow Wrap ability. A similar effect was produced from his palms. Ribbons of shadows burst forth, searching for something to bind themselves to. The silvery liquid within the vial took on bands of impossible shadow, sucking in all light from around them. He inspected the resulting potion.

[Hallow Ground Potion]

[Holy]

[Potion] [Modified Potion] [Shadow Wrapped Potion]

Epic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

Drink to create a zone of denial.

Effect:

Imbiber creates a fifty pace circle around themselves with the [Holy Ground] effect. Undead, ghost, etc creatures may cross into the circle, but will be afflicted with the Holy Judgment effect.

If the imbiber of this potion is aligned with a deity, the souls of the dead will be sent to that realm to await judgment. The afflicted shell will be destroyed.

Shadow Wrapped Effect:

Souls that are guaranteed to refuse any offers made by the deity are cast into the void.

Doubles the size of the circle created by this potion.

“That’s something else,” Theo said, wallowing hard as he read the description a few times.