The Newt and Demon - Book 5 Chapters 65,66,67 (Patreon)

Chapter 65

Ascension

Harvesting souls didn’t appeal to Theo. His mind twisted, trying to find a way that this could be a good thing. Any souls that were invited to stay within Tero’gal could be sent to the Realm of Healing to join Glantheir. Was dragging souls out of undead vessels better than allowing them to languish on the mortal plane? The alchemist didn’t care for philosophy, and decided it was the best of an unpleasant situation.

“We need to know what your new ability does for every potion,” Salire said. She was over her prior reservations and ready to move forward.

“Agreed,” Theo said, joining her in the whiplash-inducing change of heart. Best of an unpleasant situation. “But today felt good. We got some stuff done, huh?”

Salire snorted a laugh. “I guess. If you consider an hour’s worth of work good.”

“All in a day’s work,” Theo said, patting her on the shoulder. “I have another project to supervise. Bye!”

Theo left the lab while chuckling to himself. He went to his Herbalist’s Workshop to check on the plants in the back before heading off to the harbor. He didn’t need to get too close to hear Zan’kir’s guns firing. After getting to the harbor, the alchemist spotted Throk on one of the four boats, fiddling with the weapons as they delivered their anti-magical load. There were enough shells to last them a while, even at such an aggressive rate of bombardment.

But Theo wasn’t looking for Zan’kir or Throk. He felt Sarisa and Rowan close as he traced the river’s bank, heading toward the beach. As he expected, Ziz and his team were out there, scratching their heads by the water. The half-ogre spotted him coming from afar and laughed a booming laugh.

“You gave us one wild job, Theo!” Ziz shouted. “And a day to do it? Hardly seems worth the gold coin.”

“Make it ten,” Theo said, waving the question away. He was happy to throw every coin he owned in the ocean if it stopped a wave from destroying his town.

“Might be a lovely thought, you know? But your plans kinda suck. The wall has to wrap around our little bay.”

Theo looked out over the design of the landscape. Everyone called it a bay, but that wasn’t completely accurate. He didn’t know the right word for it, but it wasn’t a bay. The ocean outside of Broken Tusk was a curved section of coastline. The strip of land that afforded them access to the sea was beset on the north and south by hills and mountains. A chain of thick islands provided the bay-like quality of the area, breaking most of the waves that came from the open ocean.

Qavell would fall in the northern section of their waters, right along that mountainous coastline. It would be easy enough to build a bridge from here to there, but the problem of the wavebreak was still present.

“We’re talking about… what?” Ziz asked, looking back at his people. “An ahthalm of distance?”

A thousand feet. Maybe two-thousand feet.

“That’s not considering the curved feature you want to add.”

“I don’t want to do anything. That’s what you need to do if you want to stop a giant wave.”

That was fair enough. Theo engaged in some suggestions, most of which were shot down. But Ziz latched on to the idea of creating a stone base for a wall. After that, he went off and created an entire plan that shouldn’t have taken more than a few days at most. The stonecutters would bring all their reject stone—which was apparently a lot—and have the alchemist move it around with his Earth Sorcerer’s Core abilities. Ziz would exploit his ability to move pre-built sections of stonework, bolstering the loose stone foundation. The plan relied on the concept that if they placed enough stones in the sea, it would hold firm. The amount of stone they would use was staggering.

“Ten-thousand units of chipped, useless marble,” Ziz said, slapping his hand hard on Theo’s back. “Think you can move that much?”

“Oh, yeah. Hauling several tons of stone sounds easy.” Theo shook his head, swapping his Zaul core for his sorcerer core. “Come on. Let’s give it a try.”

While Theo waited for Ziz’s workers to go fetch some stone, he used the Earth Attunement skill to level the area near the shore. The plan was to pile enough stone underwater to bring it to the surface. Since it was high-tide, they didn’t need to guess. Before long, a worker returned. He stood there for a moment before a massive pile of odd-shaped stone blocks fell out of nowhere. Each block was larger than the alchemist’s torso. He could only guess the weight.

“We used these to practice,” Ziz said, still laughing. “Burned through quite a few. We had started chipping them down, making pavers and stuff like that. But you’re buying, so who cares!?”

Theo tested the weight of the blocks with his Earth Attunement ability. A single block wasn’t enough to strain the ability. Ten was the magic number. Blocks hovered in the air in front of them, straining the alchemist’s willpower. He let them fall, and the ground rumbled.

This project was like the bridge and tower project Ziz and his team had worked on. There were two differences that made this one different. First was the speed. This project needed to be done. Today would be best, but Theo could settle for tomorrow. Next was the scope. The bridge and tower system had to go out part-way into the sea. This causeway had to reach the barrier islands, if not further. Quick and dirty it was.

“Get to work!” Ziz said. He couldn’t stop laughing today.

Theo shoved a pile of marble blocks into the sea, tamping them down with his willpower. Ziz’s workers brought inventories filled with the material, fueling the alchemist’s work. Ten feet of the causeway was completed when they decided to test it. Sitting only a half-foot above the water’s surface, and more uneven than should have been acceptable, the causeway was sketchy. 

“This will work perfectly,” Ziz said. “As long as we have enough stone, we’re good.”

“What if we don’t have enough stone?” Theo asked.

“Great question! We switch to earth and hope that works.”

“That’s barely a plan,” Theo said, jostling the rock beneath Ziz’s feet enough to send him pitching into the sea.

“Unfair!” Ziz shouted from the water, paddling back toward the causeway. “I’m gonna get one of those sorcerer cores. Maybe a water one. Chase you around with a little storm cloud.”

Theo sent him into the water again, only to be shoved from behind. The water was cool, taking the alchemist’s breath away when he broke the surface. He looked back, meeting eyes with his betrayer. “You’re dead, Sarisa.”

Sarisa and Rowan, along with at least five of Ziz’s workers were soon swimming in the water. None were spared from Theo’s mock-wrath.That small moment of levity brought more of a Broken Tusker’s spirit out in all gathered than the alchemist had expected. They were hard workers, and fierce when it came time to defend what was theirs. But the heart of a Broken Tusker beat for the small joys in life. The group swam for some time, splashing around until more stone came to be moved.

Ten-thousand units of crappy marble wasn’t enough to get the job done, though. The slope of the ocean outside of Broken Tusk’s beach wasn’t drastic, but it was enough to require absurd amounts of material. They neared the towers and the stocks ran low. While Sarisa, Rowan, and Ziz contacted Gronro to obtain new stock, Theo pulled what stones he could from the rocky hillside to the north. The cliffs that ran along the shore were high, pulsing with green energy that represented low-quality stone.

Theo looked up at those cliffs, yanking at one large stone. The others above it followed shortly after, tumbling in a mass of dirt and stone into the water below. A wave crashed out, filling the air with the scent of saltwater mingling with dirt, spume spraying in all directions. The alchemist gathered the stones that had fallen, pulling them from the water and holding them in the air as he walked along the causeway. This wasn’t ideal, but he could extend the structure a bit as he waited for Grot to come through on his request for more rocks.

Ziz had an idea to weld a wall on top of the causeway, which might have worked. Theo didn’t want to consider the fact that the wall might fail, but catching a singular wave shouldn’t have been that hard. Right? He doubted the plan more by the moment, but it was better than doing nothing. He spent most of the day working on removing rocks from the cliffs, but the workers delivered fresh stones from Gronro before dusk. At a point, Sarisa brought him food out on that salty pier, forcing him to eat before continuing. Tresk and Alex joined him, annoyed that they weren’t diving into the Dreamwalk.

“Alright, fine,” Tresk groaned, picking up a small stone. She threw it into the sea and shrugged. “Am I helping?”

Theo worked with his laborers, adding more stones to the seabed to extend his causeway over half the length it needed to be. He read the reports of the day. There was no need to read about how many rounds Zan’kir had fired. The four ships had been bombarding the city for most of the day, only pausing when it fell back into the water. But the message was obvious. Qavell was faltering, as was predicted by the gods. If they kept up this pace of bombardment, the city would be too far away for the next leg of the plan. It needed to fall within range, allowing the alchemist to assert his authority over it after it fell.

“This is enough work. Right, Theo?” Tresk asked.

Theo looked back, watching as Ziz fabricated sections of walls meant to break the tidal wave. It would take at least another half day of hard work to get the wall done in time. The alchemist looked down to the uneven stones beneath his feet. He could take at least two steps on the causeway’s width without falling into the water. Two large steps. Expanding it was easier than setting the foundation, so he decided Tresk was right.

“Let’s go,” he said, turning and walking down the length of the stones.

Ziz planned to work through the night, so Theo left him with an armful of Greater Stamina Potions. Sarisa and Rowan seemed dead on their feet, and Alex had been honking her disapproval for quite some time. The group returned to the manor, falling into the Dreamwalk easily.

Tresk wanted to know about the new potions. Of course she did. But she had the good sense to wait until they were in the Dreamwalk to do so. It might not have been necessary with Theo’s new privacy bubble, but he appreciated the old gesture. Her reaction was predictable.

“Use it on a poison,” she said, wiggling her brows. “Come on.”

Theo laughed. He had quite a few nasty poisons in his arsenal already. He felt no guilt as his thoughts focused on the most devious poison he had. The Venom poison wasn’t kind. Normal poisons would inflict damage over time, often fading within minutes. Venom remained with a person for years. He imagined a vial of the nasty liquid, holding it up to catch a glint of the sunlight.

“What’s the thought?” Theo said, searching Tresk’s mind. “Insurance against Hanan? That’s some action movie villain stuff right there.”

“If I don’t give you the antidote,” Tresk mocked. “You’ll die in about a year.”

Theo chuckled, gripping the vial in his hand. He invoked the Spirit Weaving ability and felt the Dreamwalk push back. It didn’t like when he tried to do something he hadn’t done before. A flash of his willpower crushed any objections. Shadows oozed from his hands, wrapping itself into the purple liquid within the vial. Bands of black mingled with rich purples, creating a deadly mixture he wasn’t sure was ready for the world.

“Now that right there? That’s nasty,” Tresk said, rubbing her hands together. “That’s a war crime.”

Theo inspected the poison, confirming that it was diabolical.

[Venom]

[Poison] [Spiritwoven Poison]

Epic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Coat your weapon with a deadly venom.

Effect:

Venom floods through any target afflicted by this poison, dealing slight damage over a great period of time.This poison is likely to persist for days at the lowest quality, and years at the highest.

Venom is persistent and difficult to remove. Removal attempts are less likely to succeed.

Spiritwoven Effect:

The duration of this poison is increased to eternity.

The damage inflicted by this poison scales with time.

“Let’s test some more poisons,” Tresk said, rubbing her hands together.

The Spiritwoven Venom potion was bad enough. But Theo felt something within the Dreamwalk push back. It wasn’t an annoyed response of someone breaking the rules, but a warning. Tresk felt it. She looked around, eyes narrowed at the sky above.

“That’s a strange sensation,” Theo said. “It almost feels like…”

“The Dreamwalk is talking to us,” Tresk said. “You can’t hear it?”

Theo couldn’t hear anything aside from the occasional honk of Alex and the simulated sounds of nature all around. “Nothing.”

This was the most focused Theo had ever seen Tresk. She looked around as though trying to understand where the source of the voice was coming from. Her eyes went wide a few times and a look of confusion settled in over her features. The alchemist had never been worried about the plucky marshling. Not before that moment. He wanted to ground her in the moment, tearing her attention away from whatever the Dreamwalk told her.

“What does it sound like?” he asked.

“Like a dude. With a southern accent—all twangy and stuff,” Tresk said. Her daggers were in her hands. “Are you from Texas?!”

A rumble of something issued through the Dreamwalk. Tresk smiled back, chuckling at something Theo couldn’t hear. “Yeah, you’re right,” she said. “That would be silly.”

Pieces fell into place in Theo’s mind. He thought back to something Khahar had said as his thoughts raced. Something snapped into place and he understood the subtle hints the Arbiter had dropped. He looked over to Tresk and bit the inside of his cheek, drawing blood for his efforts. Most things in this world were powered by a will. Those wills weren’t normally attached to souls, but there were objects that might require something so potent.

“I’m guessing it wasn’t one soul,” Theo said, almost at his conclusion. “Tresk, have you seen any signs of…”

“Uh oh,” Tresk said. “Theo, if Hanan gets to the bay before I’m…”

The marshling’s voice faded into nothing. In an instant, Theo felt as though a piece of his soul had been ripped away from his body. She stood where she was for some time. But she faded away. Like her last words in the Dreamwalk, Tresk’s form echoed until it was gone.

Chapter 66

The Throne of a Dreamer

Theo woke in a cold sweat. His mind reeled as he attempted to get a handle on the situation. Alex honked and sputtered, spewing streams of fire and plant matter all over the room. It was still dark outside, only a few minutes having passed since they went to bed. Panic stripped away all logic from the alchemist. Tresk wasn’t in her bed. Swapping his cores, the alchemist used his willpower-fueled aura to scour her bed, finding traces of something familiar.

He sprung from his bed, urging Alex to follow him as he dashed down the stairs. Sarisa and Rowan must have been out cold, because they didn’t rise when the pair fled from the manor.

“The lab,” Theo hissed, spurring Alex to move faster. “We need to find her.”

“Why!? What happened?” Alex’s soul had been ripped apart, perhaps worse than Theo’s.

The Tara’hek was shattered. Not irreparable so, but the longer Tresk was gone, the worse it would get. He ran into the Newt and Demon, jumping up the steps to the third floor as quickly as he could. There was a way to explain what had happened. But it would take too long for Alex to understand. “Trust me,” he said, digging through his things.

Theo pulled a board near the wall, revealing the Fairy’s Cunning Potion imbued with Holy he had stashed there. He had avoided placing it in his inventory to avoid temptation. But he needed two things to find Tresk. To establish their connection once again before it became too weak. A Greater Potion of Limited Foresight that had been Spiritwoven, and a Fairy’s Cunning potion that had been Shadow Wrapped. He conjured the Shadow Wrap ability first, imbuing his farsight potion with its potent power. Alex was still honking as he inspected the potion.

[Fairy’s Cunning Potion]

[Holy]

[Potion] [Modified Potion] [Shadow Wrapped]

Mythic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

Drink to experience the Fairy’s cunning.

Effect:

For fifteen minutes after drinking this potion, the imbiber may view another part of the world of their choosing. Magical counter-measures may impede the imbiber’s ability to see into guarded places.

Only two far-sight potions may be imbibed per day.

Shadow Wrapped Effect:

Imbibing this potion now allows you to view multiple places during the effects of this potion.

Allows you to view places outside of mortal reality.

Double the effective length of the potion.

Theo used his Spirit Weaving ability on a Greater Potion of Limited Foresight, quaffing it in an instant. “I’ll be back,” he said, turning to pat Alex on the head.

Without waiting for a response, Theo drank the Fairy’s Cunning Potion. With his aura, as weak as it might be compared to a real magic user, he traced the line that connected the place where Tresk’s body had been, to where it was now. He forced his soul through space, pursuing the thread like a wolf on the hunt. An instant later, his soul hovered above a white marble pool of crystal-clear water. Pillars sat near the sides of the pool in various states of ruination. Standing in the center of the pool was Tresk, looking up at a pulsing golden light on the far side of the pool. It sat above a shifting throne, urging her to move forward.

Theo yanked himself out of the vision, finding Alex panicking nearby. He wrapped his arm around her considerable size and drew his willpower inward. The building rumbled around them as he interdicted them from the Newt and Demon’s third floor, through the unpierceable membrane of reality, and into the realm of the Dreamer. He didn’t use his standard practice of interdiction. The alchemist hadn’t sent their souls through the veil, but their bodies as well. Tresk turned as they appeared on the edge of the pool.

“Theo…”

Theo spread his will over the area, shrouding it in his excessive willpower. The golden spirit faltered, falling to the ground as though it had mass. But he wasn’t done. The alchemist imparted the authority of Tero’gal over the realm. The edges of the pool were cracked pieces of white marble, that cracked further when he exerted his authority. He had no plans to let the newest earthling in this realm react. The alchemist clenched his teeth, tasting copper as he drew on every piece of his willpower. Something graced against his soul, but failed.

“One charge down,” Theo grunted. His willpower consumed the Dreamer’s realm. When he felt as though he couldn’t push any harder, Alex joined the effort. She bolstered him, making up for the stupor that Tresk found herself in. There was time for explanation later. “Tero’gal. Now!”

Theo and Alex joined together, targeting everything inside the Dreamer’s realm they wanted to take with them. The edges of the realm cracked, then sundered. The void rushed in as the entire scene was interdicted into Tero’gal, bypassing the Bridge that Khahar had promised to fix. With a flash of thought, he buried the chunk of the Dreamer’s realm deep into the soil, hollowing out a section where it could remain undetected. 

Tresk snapped out of it. “What the hell!?”

In complete darkness, Theo fell back and drew labored breaths. Tresk withdrew a magical lantern from their shared inventory, holding it high. The light danced off the throne in the distance. The alchemist was too exhausted to explain. But that piece of his soul that had felt torn away was restored. And they had the Throne of the Dreamer. Safe in Tero’gal. But his concentration couldn’t waver. If the barrier dropped, Uz’Xulven would know they had avoided the Bridge. Khahar would sense them. Other gods would voice their objections.

“One more trip,” Theo said, rolling onto his belly. He tried to push himself up, but it didn’t happen. He was simply too weak.

“Share your burden,” Tresk said, setting the lantern down near him. “Keep that fancy barrier up as we make history.”

Theo rolled, watching as Tresk did the only thing she could. She smirked as she ascended to the Throne of the Dreamer. Of course she had a quip. “Heavy is the head that wears the… That sits on the throne? That didn’t work.”

“Tired is the butt that sits upon the throne?” Alex asked. She nodded, approving of her own joke.

“That works. You wanna talk about a willpower level-up?” Tresk asked, laughing. “This is invigorating.”

The scene flashed before them. Tresk, Alex, and Theo were in the lab at the Newt and Demon in an instant. The marshling pat him on the shoulder. “Take your time, buddy.”

Theo felt something else brush against his soul. Another soul-slaying attempt from the heavens? No, it came from somewhere else. It was a mind-slaying action and the difference was important. Slaying a soul was an action performed by gods. Mind hunting, or mind-slaying, was performed by a mage. A few potions later and he was ready to tell the story.

“Khahar gave me the hint. Someone from Earth came here after me. We assumed the Throne of the Dreamer was open for you, Tresk. Whoever came after me claimed it before we could.”

“So you just… threw yourself across reality to find me?” Tresk said, giggling. “Man, I gotta remember how determined you can be.”

“You left a trail when you left, which meant you were interdicted. But what god could interdict you? No god. Someone who held the Throne of the Dreamer—since that would have given them enough of a connection. I knew it from the moment you talked to that thing in the Dreamwalk. It was warning you, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. When we broke the rules, something detected us. The Dreamwalk has a location, just like the realms. It found us, and snatched me from there.”

Theo let out a steady breath. If he hadn’t done his willpower training, this would have ended badly. Tresk’s authority as the holder of the throne gave her the edge, but whoever that was thought the plan was foolproof. The accent of the Dreamwalk had been the thing to inspire the alchemist to think about the newest earthling. After that, it was a matter of following the trail.

“I can move it now,” Tresk said, rubbing her hands together. “I got a new core.”

Theo looked at her, raising a brow. “What is it?”

“The Dreamer’s Core. Look.”

[Dreamer’s Core]

Unique

Throne Core

Bound

2 Slots

Level 1 (0%)

The Dreamer is the title of the person holding the Throne of the Dreamer. This position is the guardian of the dream realms of the world. Their duties include preventing otherworldly beings from influencing the mortal realm.

Effect:
Significant increase in Willpower

Absolute authority when facing those that break the Dreamer’s design

[Dream]

“A throne core,” Theo whispered, reading over the description several times. He stood, finding a place to sit and rest. Maintaining his aura bubble was getting harder, but those gentle brushes against his soul had faded away. “And it has a skill.”

“Indeed it does,” Tresk said, sharing the skill next.

[Dream]

Dreamer Skill

Unique

The Dreamer performs their duties by entering the dreams of others.

Effect:

Allows you to pass into the dream realms created by dreamers.

This skill drains your willpower, which will need to be recharged by resting.

“I can see this web in the air… all these people dreaming,” Tresk said, in complete awe of the sight. Theo couldn’t see anything. “I can also sense the throne. No one detected it going into Tero’gal. It should cloak itself on its own.”

“How do you know?”

Tresk shrugged.

“But that’s how this guy found us,” Theo said, tapping his foot on the ground. “With the Dream skill. Damn, why didn’t we sense that sooner?”

“Good question. And he was smart enough to conceal himself. I’m just ashamed he got me. No one interdicts me! Wait, let’s go back! I wanna stab him!”

Theo felt the wound on his soul expanding. If he had endured any more of that strain, he would have needed to reforge his soul. That wasn’t something he was eager to do. And it still might have happened. No one had snuck up on him like this in a while. Getting the drop on Broken Tusk, let alone its leader, had become an impossible task. But the old Dreamer had dropped into the Dreamwalk, snatching Tresk away to remove their competition. Whoever it was had been smart enough to cut the connection of the Tara’hek.

“We just keep making enemies, don’t we?” Theo asked, ignoring Tresk’s request for some therapeutic stabbing.

“That’s not true,” Alex objected. “They were just after the same thing.”

Theo retracted his aura, feeling it rub painfully against his soul. He winced, waiting for more attacks. But nothing came. They had left the old Dreamer in a crumbling dream realm. If the person made it out, they would have been wounded. He hoped they couldn’t reforge their soul to strike again.

“I need a vacation,” Theo said, leaning back in his chair. He drew a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“Not me! Check this out!” Tresk shouted. She vanished.

Theo could still feel her, but her body wasn’t there. The connection provided by the Tara’hek was still there. He watched flashes of something. It was a confusing landscape with Miana at the center. She was tending to an endless field of fluffy white karatan. The chittered, frolicing through the fields as the woman breathed in fresh mountain air. A massive dronon, looking suspiciously like Theo, appeared on the horizon and burned the landscape. Tresk appeared at his side moments later, cackling.

“That was Miana’s dream!” she said, falling to the ground with laughter. “You’re the bad guy!”

“Ha-ha,” Theo said, glaring at his companion. Of course it didn’t phase her. She vanished again, hopping between the dreams of people within Broken Tusk. He felt her go more distant, searching out others within the world.

Tresk reappeared half an hour later, looking slightly shaken. Theo had been resting his eyes when she came back. He looked at her with a tired expression.

“Alright, I moved the Dreamwalk somewhere safe. Not gonna tell you in case you get captured and tortured.”

“Always appreciated,” Theo said, knowing exactly where the Dreamwalk was through their connection.

“Anyway… I was hopping through dreams. Just checking out what weird stuff people were dreaming about. There are some crazy dreams out there, Theo. You couldn’t imagine the amount of booties and weiners I’ve seen tonight.”

“I think I can imagine, Tresk.”

“Anyway, I stopped in on Hanan, who was having a dream about his dad. Yeah, how sad is that?”

“Extremely depressing.”

“Anyway, I figured out how to talk to people in their dreams.”

Theo leaned forward, locking eyes with Tresk. “What?”

“We ironed some stuff out. Had a really good one-on-one.”

Tresk explained Hanan’s tale…

It was that damned dream again. Hanan knew he was dreaming, but he couldn’t shake himself out of it. No matter how soft the bed or how pleasant the smells in his royal chambers, he only had fitful sleeps. His father was berating him again. The same speech fell from King Karasan’s lips, falling on him like the strike of a hammer against an anvil. But there was a lucidity in that dream that was abnormal. He looked around for a moment before slapping his father in the face.

“I’ll skin you alive, boy,” Karasan growled.

“You’re dead, father,” Hanan said. The words felt better than he could have ever imagined. “Forever.”

Hanan turned away, ignoring the constant berating to pursue something else in this dream. The world outside of this sanctum wasn’t much better. Qavell had been falling repeatedly, more systems of dark magic failing by the day. Dark Coresmiths were dying in droves, leaving only a handful left to manage the strange system. That creature, ever-shrouded in darkness, did little to lift the spirits of his people. He stood in a vague void of the old Qavell. The city before it flew.

“And who might you be?” Hanan asked, finding the only other moving thing within the dream.

“That’s kinda hard to explain,” the little pink lizard-girl said. She tugged at the edge of a leather tunic nervously.

“Since I’ll be dead by morning, and you’re just a dream, I’ll entertain you.”

“Sorry, King Hanan,” the girl said, chuckling to herself. “I ain’t a dream.”

“Sure you are. I’m dreaming. I just slapped my father.”

There was an amount of control that was out of Hanan’s grasp. This dream was lucid, but there were elements he couldn’t control. His responses came out too stiff, almost as though he were following a script generated by his subconscious.

“Good news. Bad news,” the girl said. “Which do you want first?”

“The bad news, of course.”

“Your city is going to fall. Tomorrow or the day after.”

“I already know that. What’s the good news?”

“We don’t want to kill you. Hooray!”

“Hooray!” Hanan said reflexively. He cleared his throat. More lucidity reached him as he realized. The lizard-girl was real. “What’s going on?”

“Hey. Nice to meet you. I’m the Dreamer. Well, I’m the new Dreamer. The old one was weird and tried to kill me. Why don’t you explain what that weird entity is in your city? We’re gonna kill him when you get to Broken Tusk.”

Hanan faced a stark reality at that moment. This Dreamer was in Broken Tusk, broadcasting herself into his dreams. He broke down, explaining everything he remembered. The entity had coerced his father into quite a few things, but this latest flying city ploy was the worst. He rattled off every detail about the dark figure. Always cloaked, bird-like, and consistently ruthless with his punishments for failure.

“Yep,” the Dreamer said with a single nod. “Looks like you got yourself an extra-dimensional bird-person on your hands. Pretty sure we can take care of it for ya. Can you get your dudes to stand down when we go for his throat?”

Hanan blinked. “The army is loyal to me,” he said. “If you destroy the creature, we’ll be in your debt.”

The Dreamer cackled. “I’m counting on it, buddy!”

Chapter 67

I Got This

Theo, Tresk, Aarok, Luras, Xol’sa, and Zarali sat around a table in the Adventurer’s Guild. The marshling’s ascension to the Throne of the Dreamer had been shared with a select few under the protection of the alchemist’s aura of silence. No one had questioned why Tresk had appeared in their dreams yet, but she was instructed to calm it down until they could weigh the implications of such a power.

“But does she have the authority to destroy this being?” Xol’sa said. It had taken him the least time to accept this new state as fact.

“Hard to say,” Theo said, cracking his knuckles. “Her position is vague, compared to the Herald.”

“Can we stab it? Can we shoot it?” Aarok grumbled.

“Not likely,” Tresk answered. “Hanan would have done that already.”

“We’re once again beholden to the elf,” Luras said, leaning back in his chair and yawning. “How boring.”

“But we get a free city out of the deal!” Tresk shouted, jumping up to do a little dance. “Can’t argue with that!”

“And the political implications that came with it,” Zarali scoffed. “Political and godly, actually. Lord Drogramath’s influence will clash against another.”

The group squabbled for some time, arguing with each other about nothing at all. Things were in motion and there was no way to stop them. Zan’kir and his guns roared on the bay, keeping the city where it was for now. Fenian raced to the alliance on the pirate ship, destined to free the new king from his shackles. Theo’s mind wandered elsewhere as he thought about these things, unsure about how he felt concerning other loose ends.

Of the entities that could screw with any plans led by Theo or his allies, Emperor Kuzan from the elven nation of Tarantham, and the Wanderer were the most volatile. Everything else had been ironed out well enough, including the addition of Tresk to the holder of thrones. Only one remained to be claimed, and the alchemist planned to seize it himself. He had a decent enough idea about where it went, confident that the extra-planar elves held it hostage somewhere across the void.

“My last question for you, Theo,” Aarok said, snapping the alchemist out of his thoughts. “What do the other gods think about this?”

“Should you even reveal this information?” Zarali asked, looking concerned.

“I don’t know,” Theo said. “This aura of shadow prevents people from hearing me, but that wouldn’t stop someone like Khahar from predicting it.”

“Confide in Khahar,” Luras said. “No one else.”

“Don’t trust Khahar,” Xol’sa said, snorting his disapproval.

“Trust only yourself!” Alex said unhelpfully.

Theo drew his aura in, clicking his tongue. A forked path stood before him. Zaul suspected some foul play in the heavens, but he was a crusty old shadow person. Khahar was an old friend with a design for a better world. Without using the Tero’gal Dreampassage ability, the alchemist slipped through reality. After encountering the Dreamer, he felt a closer affinity to his developing power but suspected the core Zaul gave him empowered him more than he realized.

“Quite rude,” Khahar said, turning as Theo appeared in the office within the Arbiter’s Citadel. “You don’t even knock anymore.”

Theo smiled to himself, taking a seat in the nearest comfortable chair. “I’ve got a bone to pick with you, Yuri.”

“No you don’t,” Khahar said, staring out the window. Down through the clouds rested his realm, sprawling far into the distance. “I’m just your crazy uncle Khahar. Doing wacky Arbiter stuff.”

Theo weighed his words carefully, then shrugged. What was the point of keeping anything from him? “How much do you know about what’s going on?”

“Did she ascend the throne last week, or yesterday?”

“Yesterday,” Theo said.

“And Zaul already gave you the bugged core?”

“Yup.”

“Then we’re still in one future I saw. Although I’ll cross a few off from my list.”

“Ya gonna explain Zaul’s core?”

Khahar waved his hand dismissively. “Just an old fool who won’t let his power go. An original god from the First Ascension that has avoided pruning. But you don’t have to worry about me. The other gods might have it out for you, but not me.”

“Always good when the omnipotent dude says ‘you have nothing to worry about. I’m not evil, I swear!’”

Khahar chuckled. “Good one. Uz’Xulven hasn’t figured out you’ve been bypassing the Bridge.”

“She won’t,” Theo reassured him. “As long as you don’t rat on me.”

“Zaul poured more of his power into that core than he should have. That’s a lot of effort to thumb his nose at us. Anyway, was this the only reason for your visit?”

“Basically. Just checking to see if stealing a piece of a realm is against the rules.”

“Nope. No one is supposed to be able to do it. So you’re good,” Khahar said, giving Theo the thumbs-up.

Theo didn’t know if Khahar noticed what was happening to him. He probably noticed. That guy noticed everything. Something pulled in the alchemist’s chest, drawing him back toward the mortal plane. He shouldn’t have been here, no matter how much he wanted to remain. It reminded him of the sensations souls felt when they were trespassing in foreign realms. With a half-hearted wave, he let himself get dragged back into the void. It was like falling backwards into a pool of water, the chill of emptiness filling his body in an instant. But within the void there was peace. A silence so deep he couldn’t hear his breath, or his heartbeat.

For a moment, Theo glimpsed a sprawling field of gems glittering in the dark. It seemed endless, the light almost blinding. The moment passed and he fell back onto the mortal plane, his butt hitting the ground hard. The alchemist glared up at Tresk, who had moved his chair.

“Ha-ha!” she shouted, pointing at him.

Theo stood, straightening his coat. “You suck,” he said, leaving the room.

The war room would go on for some time, but Theo had other things to do. No one broke their conversation as he left, although Tresk continued to giggle. He stepped out onto the streets, finding more activity than he expected. People were stacking wooden crates and shouting between each other. Gael, Gwyn, and Alise pitched in or barked orders.

“What’s up?” Theo asked, placing a hand on Alise’s shoulder. She looked up at him with a weak smile.

“We can’t contribute to the war effort, but we can read the reports,” she said, patting a box with a grin. “We’re preparing relief aid for the city.”

The reports Theo submitted included Hanan’s compliance once the city fell. So long as the creature was killed, the people within Qavell needed help. Assuming they had any food stores at all, perhaps in dimensional storage crates, the population of the city was vast. Her people would be hungry and thirsty. Scared by their captor and untrusting of their saviors. The administrators were perfect to make first contact. An armful of food rather than weapons was better.

“What an amazing idea,” Theo said, smiling down at the woman. “You guys rock.”

“Thanks,” Alise said, offering a shy smile. “Just finding my path. You should help Ziz. Anyone who isn’t working on the food is helping with a bridge.”

Theo snapped his fingers. How did he expect to get to the city if they didn’t have a way to get to the city? He thanked Alise again, jogging off to the harbor, then north to the site of their tsunami-breaker. Sarisa and Rowan followed close behind, leaving the shadows in favor of haste. The area of the beach where they had started the wall was buzzing with activity. Locals from Broken Tusk worked with folks from both Rivers and Gronro, passing stones between themselves in a chain to bolster the causeway. Ziz’s wall was mostly done on the piled stone. It didn’t look sturdy enough to stop a tidal wave, but it was better than nothing.

“Ah! Just the demon I need,” Ziz said, looking up from the length of stones he was working on. Wet mortar dripped from his fingertips, staining his face in long smears. “Use some of that fancy magic to help these poor folks.”

Theo nodded, slotting his Earth Sorcerer’s Core and getting to work. Doing this work by hand was a nightmare, and he didn’t know how they had gotten as far as they had. The crowd clapped when the alchemist hoisted a large pile of rocks, carrying it across the causeway to deposit on the far end. The alchemist understood what Ziz was doing on his third pass of dropping rocks into the sea. He was creating prefabricated structures that he could add to his inventory. This was exactly like the failed bridge to the lizard islands. The only difference was that this bridge didn’t need to span a length of angry seas. The bay was calm enough where he could set the supports with ease.

Zan’kir’s weapons rang out in the distance, sending shots hurtling toward Qavell once again. They moved too fast and high to spot them, but the deadly impacts were reported through the administration interface. Theo picked up his pace, feeling as though a monster were on his tail, prepared to strike. He tried using his authority and domain to move large chunks of land, but it didn’t work. Something might have been drained from him when he took a piece of the Dreamer’s realm, or he didn’t have the authority to act on the mortal realm. Instead, he chugged more mana potions and moved stones with his sorcerer core.

Despite the coat that brought him to the perfect temperature, Theo was sweating. He dabbed his brow after a trickle of sweat rolled down to sting his eye. The scent of low tide filled the air as they worked, dying sea vegetation mingling with salt. The next time the weapons fired, Theo spotted the arc of the shots. He swallowed hard, narrowing his eyes on the horizon. A gray mountain poked from around a bend, more of it coming into view by the moment. The weapons fired again and the mountain glittered with energy.

Theo grit his teeth, biting back the words of warning he wanted to shout. Something in his chest told him about the danger. Words that were spoken to him days ago came back. If they had weapons that could fire long-range, so did Qavell. The alchemist switched back to his Zaul core, using Spirit Weaving on his next spell. He chugged a Greater Intelligence Potion. With his mind buzzing, he used one more ability. The Intuitive Nodes skill from his Toru’aun Core drew on the power of Tero’gal to empower a spell. He infused his ad-hoc defensive ward with the power of an entire realm.

The shield that flowed forth from Theo’s hands, powered by the words of his chant, sprung to encompass more area than Broken Tusk occupied. Shots rippled out from Qavell, slamming against the shield without effect. But the alchemist felt those strikes in his bones, driving him to his knees as he clenched his teeth. The gathered crowd scattered, fleeing the scene for the safety of the walls. Theo felt powerful hands hook under his arms, lifting him to his feet as Sarisa and Rowan stood sentinel.

“We good, Theo?” Sarisa asked, scanning the area for something to do.

Theo tried not to laugh, maintaining his focus on the spell. Ziz was still working, undeterred by the magic striking against the shield. Tresk appeared nearby with Alex. The goose pressed her head against his chest, and the marshling put two hands on his back. The connection the spell had with Tero’gal doubled, rendering it as an impenetrable force field.

“That was the last-ditch plan,” Theo grunted, his hands quivering as he maintained the barrier. “Didn’t know they were so close.”

Tresk nodded, drawing both daggers. “Plan B.”

It didn’t pass Theo’s notice that they were coated in Venom. Before he could object, she was on Alex’s back, soaring into the air.

“Where the hell is Fenian?” Rowan grumbled.

A rift appeared next to Theo. Zarali and Xol’sa stepped out, eyes going wide when they saw the source of the barrier. The Drogramathi Priestess slammed her staff against the ground, chanting a prayer to her lord. Theo felt renewed as a message popped up.

You have received [Blessing of Drogramath] from [Zarali].

“Watch this,” Theo said, pulling his focus inward. He expanded his aura. With great effort, he matched the size of his Toru’aun barrier with his own aura.

King Hanan paced in his chambers, chewing at his nails. He had already drawn blood on all ten, but he couldn’t stop. The Dreamer’s message was clear. There was hope. But the creature had taken control of the city, puppeting it to do his bidding. The automated defenses on the walls were already firing on the poor town below. Even if the Dreamer’s promise could come true, they wouldn’t survive long enough to rescue his people.

Hanan drew a ragged breath, letting it out with equal pain. He stepped out onto his balcony, looking down at the water rushing by below. His eyes dragged up to the place his city was attacking and saw something strange. The king’s heart stopped beating for a moment as he saw a barrier more powerful than he could imagine. It covered most of the coastline, encompassing an area larger than Qavell itself.

“There is hope,” he said, heart hammering hard in his chest. “Just a glimmer, but… What!?”

The king tumbled backwards, falling on his ass and slamming his head against a dresser. He looked up, groaning and clutching his wound. If he wasn’t fairly high-leveled, he would have had a heart attack. The Dreamer stood before him, a wicked dagger in each hand and a smile on her face. Of all things, a goose the size of a healthy milk karatan stood before her, honking in anger.

“You’re…”

“Where is the jerk?” the Dreamer asked.

“The entity is in… He’s in the throne room!” Hanan said, gesturing vaguely behind him. “My people know about you. They won’t attack.”

“Yeah, I got this,” the dreamer said, rolling her shoulders. “Just sit tight, king. I’ve got an interdimensional bird-person to kill.”

The muscles in Hanan’s jaw bunched as he grit his teeth. Here he was, sitting and whimpering like some fresh-faced adventurer in their first dungeon. He let out a scream, punched himself in the stomach, then grabbed his spear before following after the Dreamer.