An attempted murder wasn’t the best start to the Season of Fire. Theo sat discussing the issue with Aarok, staring out the man’s office window and idly responding. He was lost in his thoughts, pondering the situation. There had been attempts on his life before, but never on other members of Broken Tusk. That fact hit hard, but it came with good news. The contracts worked, and they extended out to protect his citizens. There was nothing to be done about outside forces, though.
“My biggest concern for security is the inquisition of the Burning Eye,” Theo said, breaking away from his thoughts and dismissing whatever topic was at hand. He explained what Khahar had said. That they were on the moon.
“Didn’t know you could live on the moon,” Aarok said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “Also didn’t know the old Khahari could send them there.”
Theo suspected there were many things they didn’t know about Yuri. But he wouldn’t voice them to his friend.
“You’re becoming less of a guildmaster,” Theo said. “More of a general.”
“I’d rather not think about it,” Aarok said. He failed to hide the smile on his face. “Not gonna lie. I love it.”
“Your boyhood dreams of military service are coming true,” Theo said. “Any contact with that Dwarf from Gronro? I had a feeling he wanted to cut his people’s teeth in our dungeons.”
“On the dungeons,” Aarok started, taking a moment to collect his thoughts, “we’re eagerly awaiting Xol’sa’s new core. Once he can control the dungeons better, we’ll start a training program for anyone in the alliance.”
What the Southland Defensive Alliance accomplished, in the eyes of the kingdom, was treason. They made a bet on Qavell collapsing, or being whittled down to a point where they’d need outside help. With each day that went by, the adventurers looked more like soldiers. Theo feared the day that people showed up to their gates, but it might only be a matter of time. He dismissed the thought before it derailed the conversation.
“I hope you have a plan for their training,” Theo said. “And ours, of course.”
“There’s a flexible plan in place. Fenian made big promises about the [Dungeon Engineer] core. One promise was instanced dungeons, where more than one party can run it at a time. Currently, everyone just flops into the same dungeon. Even if he makes only two instances, we can double our training time,” Aarok said.
It was hard not to think about the Dreamwalk. That would be an absurd skill to share.
“I want you to work on preparing for the undead,” Theo said. “Once the refugees are settled, focus on that.”
“Are you giving orders?”
“No, just expressing my intuition,” Theo said. “Which is rarely wrong. All we can do is imagine the scenarios, and train for our expectations. You’re on the walls of Gronro-Dir. Skeletons and whatever flooding down the path. What do you do?”
“What would I do?” Aarok asked, scratching the stubble on his chin. “Line the damn thing with towers and feed them motes.”
“That works for a regular monster wave, right? I’ve got a potion design specifically for the undead, though. I can confidently supply enough to handle a normal-sized wave of undead, but what if that wave is endless?”
Aarok shrugged it off. “Well, what could you do against an endless monster wave?”
There was no answer to that. Theo felt himself missing a chance to create something greater than what he had. Perhaps a system of pipes that poured the potion over the attackers, like the old medieval castles. Instead of boiling water and tar, they could dispense [Hallow Ground] potions. But the quantity required for that would be unsustainable. Not for a long time, anyway. It was just impossible to plan for an enemy they’d never seen.
“Something to think about,” Theo said. “Maybe we can send scouts north to get eyes on the undead.”
“Don’t discount your new allies,” Aarok said. “Grot has a head on his shoulders. I’d be shocked if he didn’t have eyes on them already.”
The statement brought a new thought to Theo’s mind. They wanted an easy way to communicate between the towns, and Fenian was still staying in Broken Tusk. The trader gave both Theo and Azrug communication crystals, so he must have a source. Only now did the alchemist think about the cost of that item, withdrawing both it and the Qavelli crystal from his inventory. On a whim, he squeezed the one provided by the crown and got nothing. He held it up for Aarok to inspect.
“Why haven’t they contacted me?” Theo asked. “Qavell is big… Right? Maybe they’re strong, but if there’s an enemy at the gate, why didn’t they call?”
Aarok rubbed his chin some more. There was a glint of recognition in the Half-Ogre’s eyes that was hard to shake off. “What are we talking about? I’m not as quick as you, Theo.”
Theo didn’t think he was quick at all. But the pieces were falling together. “Maybe the undead are moving on their own. Maybe this was planned,” he paused, rewording his next statement in his mind to avoid mentioning Khahar directly. “The big cat person said there was a plan for me, but it fell apart. That smells off to me. Something about the whole damn thing stinks.”
“When you suspect a conspiracy, ask one simple question. To what end?” Aarok asked.
Gods or otherwise, what would someone gain by destroying Qavell? Perhaps it was a way to spit in Glanthier’s face for saving the continent. Both the Elves and House Southblade had a stake in seeing King Karasan dead, even if Theo couldn’t figure out why. Aarok’s question rang in his mind. To what end? This wasn’t something he’d solve by considering the facts in the guild’s office. There was no trail to follow when the answer was so distant. The alchemist pushed the thoughts from his mind, shaking away his uncertainty.
“To what end,” Theo repeated, swiping his tail through the air as the question fell away. “Well, fair enough. We need more information.”
“Agreed.”
Aarok went back to discussing practical defenses for the town. Theo entertained the conversation until it was exhausted, taking his leave from the guild. The bodies were still downstairs, but the crowd had thinned. Gael was waiting to speak to the guildmaster, apologizing to the alchemist about his people’s behavior.
“No harm done,” Theo said, pushing his way out into the streets of Broken Tusk.
Fenian’s carriage was parked near Miana’s ranch. The Elven trader was petting the Pozwa, trying to imitate their chittering shrieks. While the creatures didn’t enjoy it, Miana was laughing. Theo pulled him aside to ask about the communication crystals.
“How many? 2? Quite fine,” Fenian said, producing 2 crystals from nowhere and pressing them into Theo’s hand. “They just need to touch these, then they’ll work. These are low-grade versions, so they don’t have the world-wide range of mine.”
Theo blinked away his confusion, but it didn’t work. “How much?” he asked.
“For free.”
Theo just stood, staring at the Elf for a long while. The grin never dropped from Fenian’s face. When the alchemist turned, he walked away slowly, waiting for the shouts to follow him. But there was nothing. He had his crystals for free. Fair enough.
It was the late afternoon by the time Theo made his way back to the Newt and Demon. He summoned his golems to organize their ranks. The alchemist got to work behind his lab, near the greenhouses. He went with 1 [Lesser Stone Golem] to guard 2 [Lesser Mud Golems] in the swamp. They’d be on mote duty, harvesting the bounty of the swamp. The 5 [Lesser Copper Golems] were fine. He just didn’t need as many motes as the [Lesser Mud Golems] were harvesting, so additional defense for the town was great. That left him to create 1 more [Lesser Plant Golem] to tend the greenhouses. While 1 seemed to work decently, there was only so much it could do.
With the golems sorted, Theo turned his attention to providing them with power. His stock of [Mana Constructs] was dwindling, but thanks to the [Lesser Plant Golem], the second mushroom cave was full of [Manashrooms]. The alchemist sent a list of mental orders to each golem, sending the mote team out to the swamp, the plant team to the greenhouses, and the metal team roaming the town and mine.
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Theo dodged questions from Salire, heading up to the lab with an inventory filled with [Swamp Truffles] and [Manashrooms]. She followed him, forcing him to look at a ream of parchment filled with orders. The alchemist wanted to protest, but there was around 20 gold worth of orders. Being low on cash meant he had to shift his priorities. There wasn’t much time left in the day, but half the orders could be filled with essences he had in the lab.
“How do you like the Elves?” Theo asked, starting off with the [Healing Pills].
“They’re very nice,” Salire said. “I always thought they were too good for us mud-folk. An adventurer Elf is trying to woo me. I think.”
The Elves were like most races on the planet, even if they seemed like isolationists. Tarantham was the first place Theo had heard of that held a single race, although his information was spotty. It hardly mattered, with the amount of work to do in the lab. More stills would go a long way, but the floor space was too small. The Newt and Demon could produce massive quantities of potions, but there was room for improvement. An assistant would be the best, but there was no Drogramathi Dronon with the alchemy core banging on his door for a job.
Theo transferred enough units of [Refined Healing Essence] into his square flask, having a thought before inciting the reaction. The alchemist used his makeshift pipette to place less than a unit of the essence into a flat-bottomed vial. He swirled it around, watching as the pink liquid coated the sides of the pristine glass.
“An experiment,” Theo said, handing it over to Salire.
She took the vial and cast a concerned look at him. A normal person might not see the change, but Theo could. It went a darker shade of red, small bubbles forming at the bottom.
“Swirl it around,” Theo said, gesturing to the vial. Salire obeyed despite her confusion.
The moment she moved the liquid, it bubbled angrily. It went from a clear liquid to a frothing mess of sputtering sparks and smoke. Salire dropped it to the ground, shouting and scrambling to the door. After a few heartbeats, the violent reaction was over. The shopkeeper’s anger did not abate.
“What was that?” she asked, sputtering, not unlike the essence.
“I knew others couldn’t handle the essences,” Theo said, adding enchanted iron shavings to his square vial, then leveling it out with enchanted water. This reaction was controlled. It bubbled, spewed a small amount of smoke, then became a large flask of [Healing Potion]. “I’ve never seen it, though.”
Salire blustered. “I’d rather not be an experiment.”
“But Tresk touched the essence before. That’s curious,” Theo said, introducing the [Solidify] modifier to the mix. It hardened in a moment, going opaque. He dumped it out on the table and cut the lump of potion into pills. Salire huffed near the door. “It was so little of the mix, it wouldn’t have hurt you. [Healing Essences] are the most stable I have. Imagine if I handed you [Fire Essence].”
“Doesn’t change the facts,” Salire said, straightening herself up.
“Imagine if someone came in here and messed with my stuff,” Theo said, gesturing to the lab. He issued an order to a single [Lesser Copper Golem]. An order to guard the lab at all hours of the day. “Is that carelessness? Well, I don’t know. I had the idea of bringing in an assistant, but they wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
Salire took a deep breath. “So, you were sure it would not kill me?”
“Yeah,” Theo said, cutting another section of the solidified potion. “What do you think the best option is? Focus on producing more, or what?”
“I think you should focus on quality,” Salire said.
There was wisdom in that, of course. Zarali always talked about the quality of potions, and Theo could feel something in his chest about that. The next tier of potions might be completely different, it was impossible to tell. Nothing came to mind when he thought about ways to refine his potions further. Maybe there were more fermentation processes, or another way to use the pressure vessel. But it seemed like a faraway dream, even if he was standing near the edge of level 20.
“Healing pills done. I agree with you. Quality over quantity… After we make a crap-load of potions,” Theo said. “What’s next?”
“More requests for bombs. Poisons. Stuff on your blacklist. But there are also more attribute potions with different modifiers.”
One item stuck out that was interesting enough. It wasn’t on his list, as he didn’t list the elemental potions. Someone wanted a [Strength Potion] with the [Elemental Fire] modifier. Theo couldn’t remember who he told about the elemental modifiers, but he could guess what the effects of the potion would be. When he applied the [Elemental Wind] modifier to a [Dexterity Potion], the physical trait that scaled with the attribute got a multiplier. He withdrew an example from a nearby storage crate, inspecting it.
[Dexterity Potion]
[Refined Elemental Wind]
[Potion] [Modified Potion]
Epic
Created by: Belgar
Grade: Excellent Quality
Alignment:
Drogramath (Middling Bond)
Drink to enhance dexterity.
Drink to increase speed scaling.
Effect:
+14 Dexterity for 1.75 hours.
For 1.25 hour, your physical speed scales 1.30 times better than normal.
Theo was shocked Tresk hadn’t stolen this one. It was made with the enchanted [Drogramathi Iron Shavings], with cultivated ingredients, combined with alignment effects. The alchemist didn’t have [Refined Elemental Fire] on hand, but he had enough [Refined Strength Essence] to get everything started. By the time dusk came, with the help of Zarali’s enchantments, he could have a sample ready. The alchemist started a fermentation barrel with [Flame Roses], and busied himself with the other orders while he waited.
Salire was happy to stay and chat. Whatever anger she felt from holding the sizzling vial had passed, and she was back on friendly terms. Theo made a note to increase his stockpile of his standard essences. As always, restoration, purification, and attribute essences would always sell. People rarely needed the [Potion of Purification], but when they did, they needed it immediately. He checked the items from the list, digging into his store of essences. Some requests wanted strange combinations of modifiers, but he didn’t object. Whatever customers wanted, he’d make. As long as they weren’t outright weapons.
That rule of providing no bomb-style potions to citizens was wearing thin, but Theo didn’t want to abandon it. There might come a day where a regular [Firebomb] didn’t seem like such a destructive weapon, but that day wasn’t today.
An order on the list that surprised the alchemist was one from Rivers and Daub. Alran must have requested the 100 [Hallow Ground] potions, because it was just listed as ‘undead killing potions’. Instead of blowing off the request, Theo took it seriously. Instead of providing the man with a useless version of the potion, he crafted 100 [Hallow Ground Potions] with the [Aerosolize] modifier. He inspected the result, finding no differences from the ones he’d made before.
[Hallow Ground Potion]
[Aerosolize]
[Potion] [Modified Potion]
Epic
Created by: Belgar
Alignment:
Drogramath (Middling Bond)
Grade: Excellent Quality
Shatter to create a cloud of denial.
Effect:
Throwing this potion creates a fifty pace circle around the point of impact with the [Hallow Ground] effect. Undead, ghost, etc creatures may cross into the cloud, but will be banished when they do so.
This version was the easiest to use, and most effective for dealing with large groups of undead. That was Theo’s assumption, anyway. Without a practical application, it was hard to say which version was the most effective. He told Salire to make a note to Mister Cherman about the cost of these potions. As part of their alliance, Broken Tusk promised to provide these undead-killing weapons at a cheap price. When he placed the order, he expected to pay full price.
“Almost as if he doubts our alliance,” Theo said with a sigh, finishing the [Flame Rose] fermentation and transferring it for distillation. “That man needs to learn to trust.”
“When your fate is in the hands of others, it’s often hard to trust,” Salire said, nodding to herself. “Felt like that when I left Gronro.”
Theo pushed down the guilty feeling in his chest. Salire came to Broken Tusk for a better life because she wasn’t built for the combat of Gronro-Dir. It wasn’t his fault that she had a hard time to start. She was doing so well now. He couldn’t tell she’d ever feared her future after coming to his town. The alchemist continued with his work, asking her more about how she felt upon arriving in town. She reversed her previous statement, claiming that it was just the nerves. But a move, no matter the world, was a hard thing. She left behind family and friends to join this experiment.
The timer went off on the still right when dusk set in over Broken Tusk. Theo crafted a [Strength Potion], using [Enchanted Drogramathi Iron Shavings], and introduced his newly crafted [Refined Elemental Fire] to the mix. The red-tinged potion flared, seams of living fire spreading through the vial. While the reaction was stable, Salire stepped back. The alchemist’s experiment left a lasting impression on her. But he examined the result all the same, finding his expectations to be true.
[Strength Potion]
[Refined Elemental Fire]
[Potion] [Modified Potion]
Epic
Created by: Belgar
Grade: Excellent Quality
Alignment:
Drogramath (Middling Bond)
Drink to enhance strength.
Drink to increase physical strength scaling.
Effect:
+14 Strength for 1.75 hours.
For 1.25 hours, your physical strength scales 1.30 times better than normal.
[Refined Elemental Fire] enhanced a person’s physical strength, just like [Refined Elemental Wind] enhanced a person’s speed. Those were the easy ones to guess, and how the elemental-line of modifiers influenced [Vigor], [Intelligence], and [Wisdom] was beyond him. But that was a problem for another time. Theo crafted the 10 [Strength Potions] in the order, and handed everything over to Salire. They didn’t fill every order, but it was close enough for the day. It didn’t help that Tresk was screaming in Theo’s ear to get to the tavern. It was dinner time.