An uneventful day was a good one. Theo had finished his work in the lab, finding his way to Xam’s tavern with his friends. Tonight’s meal was a variation of the wolf meat stew, this time infused with Karatan cheese. A single day after arriving in town, the Elves were settling in well. The alchemist could see their eagerness to forget the past, finding it a mirror to stare into. Alex pecked at some Zee bread, prancing around the table as they ate.

It would be wise to meet with Fenian before he left town. Others had collected their goods from the trader, but Theo didn’t have outstanding orders. There had been no request for bulk potions this trip, leaving his pockets too empty. Even filling a 20 gold order from townsfolk, spread across many adventurers, wasn’t enough to keep the town afloat. All hope now rested with the shipwright.

But no one came calling, even as Tresk and Theo slipped into their bath. The Marshling seemed somber, compared to her normally bombastic nature. He could feel her mind churning through information, trying to make connections between something. How she’d become so good at hiding her thoughts was beyond him. That was a question for the Dreamwalk, though. The alchemist dismissed his doubts before the crept up on him.

“The only thing that could make the bath better would be an air conditioner,” Theo said, sighing. Even keeping his head above the water did little to stifle the lingering heat. Fortunately, the showers outside the bath ran cold water. Once the Season of Fire set in, it might be too hot to bathe.

“Check it out,” Tresk said, holding something up for Theo to see. She must have held it in the shared inventory. It was a core. “Elven God of Duels. Parantheir.”

Theo let out a slow breath, sinking further into the bath. He wanted to be upset about another god coming to town, but the support they provided was undeniable.

“That’s your solution to close combat,” Theo said, nodding. “Need to figure out your [Tracker’s Core], next.”

“Working on it,” Tresk said, nodding. “Been asking around, but I don’t think anyone around here knows much Marshling lore. Let alone Bantari.”

That much was true. Even the local Marshlings held little of their cultural heritage. “The lizard-dudes to the south?” Theo asked.

“That’s my best bet,” Tresk said.

That lined up well enough with their current plans. Once their boats were on the water, those islands to the south were their first stop. Even if the lizard-folk didn’t want to trade with Broken Tusk, it would help to get the word out. Once merchant vessels knew they were open for business, people should flood in for trade. Fees on imports alone would help pad the coffers, but making first contact was the most important part. A harbor was a way of signaling that a town was open for business. That’s how Theo hoped it would go.

They didn’t linger in the bath for long. Tresk and Alex were eager to get into the Dreamwalk, but Theo examined the gosling before leaving with them.

[Alexandria D’Goose]

[Goose]

[Familiar]

Stage:

[Gosling]

Master:

[Dreamrealm of Tero’gal]

Level 4

Description:

Geese are known as the most loving creatures in all the realms. Any rumors spread to disparage these honorable creatures will be met with a flurry of feathers and bill.

Affinities:

Fire

She had advanced, but not much. While her outward appearance might have changed, it was hard to tell since Theo saw her everyday. He placed his hand on the chirping gosling and judged that she’d grown, if only slightly. How familiars worked was beyond him, but her calming presence was enough to make it worth it. The group made their way back to the Newt and Demon, running into several people on the streets. They politely pushed past as the sun dipped lower behind the horizon and entered the Dreamwalk.

The schedule in the real world was unforgiving. Theo wanted to work on something that would imitate pitch, since alchemy seemed the best bet, but hadn’t had the time. Instead, he watched as Tresk departed near the harbor and focused on developing his mana control. It was simple enough for him to draw that fiery purple mana from his core and hold it in his palm now. Repeated practice made the process reliable, even if he didn’t trust himself in the real world. But that was fading as time went on. There was no point in practicing in the Dreamwalk if he didn’t apply what he learned in real life. That’s what Xol’sa would have said.

Theo’s time in the Dreamwalk became a race to gain as much experience as possible. With Throk’s basic timing device, he practiced what it would be like to run 5 or more stills in real life. He found it easy to run 10 at a time, not caring about the result, but operating 5 was difficult if he expected quality essence. There was also a strain that came with running so many stills, as though part of himself was tied to the process. In the real world, he found this strain pressing gently on his chest when running his current setup. But that exertion was like a phantom of itself in this realm. The weight was lighter.

Alex had gone with Tresk tonight, leaving Theo alone with his ghost ships and his thoughts. The alchemist summoned Marshy on the horizon, waving to the fictitious god. Somehow, that looming creature’s presence was comforting. He felt restless that night. Running between so many stills had become a comfort, but there was a lingering anxiety that built in his mind. It had been a while since he ran up against the first barrier in this world. Back when he was under level 10, struggling to find the secret to advancement. Coming up against another barrier, this time with much more knowledge, allowed him to identify the source of the block.

It wasn’t a mental thing, he realized. At the last barrier, Theo felt irritable. That barrier put up more than just a block against advancement. It weighed on his heart and mind, forcing a sense of uselessness down his throat. With increased willpower, the alchemist pushed back. He knew the way to advance this time. Zarali had dropped enough hints to send him into the next bracket, but it was the one that loomed at level 30 that gave him pause.

“This is the part with training wheels,” Theo reminded himself. That’s what Khahar said. “This is easy mode.”

Forcing his will against those fears for the future, Theo turned his attention to his stills. More stills wasn’t the answer. Larger stills might work, but that brought more problems. Even the current design had problems. Heating a mash from the bottom worked when there wasn’t a lot of liquid inside. But the more alchemical mash he added to a pot, the higher chance the bottom would burn. Burnt reagents meant lower quality potions. Throk was going to hate him. He needed a new design for the still. That annoying reality sent him into a spiral of questions, none of which he had answers for.

Theo summoned a likeness of his [Drogramath Still]. It was a magic item provided by the seed core building. He fell down that spiral, letting it consume him. The still was made of [Drogramathi Iron], that much was clear. Since it was part of the building, there was only one person who could enable modifications. Sledge needed to work with Throk to change the still. The alchemist stretched his will over the Dreamwalk. It didn’t want to create a larger version of the still, but it wasn’t the master here. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he focused, drilling into the fabric of the realm. His command over the golems had strengthened his will, honing it over the weeks. A loud pop issued after a moment, the air shimmering to reveal a 1,000 unit [Drogramath Still].

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

It was the same design as the last. Unnecessary spikes everywhere, but lacking the enchantments provided by Zarali. Theo tested his theory about burning the bottom of the still, finding that to be true. He imagined several [Flame Artifices] and stone plinths of various sizes. The alchemist arranged them around the still, leaving the single flame underneath, and adding four to the sides about half-way up the still. This added a layer of complexity to the run. Heating the still was no longer as easy as flicking a switch at a certain temperature. He had to keep all the flames at their lowest setting. But it worked after exhausting experimentation.

The key was to arrange the flames at the right distance, providing the right heat. This would make calculating the perfect run for reagents a nightmare, but that wouldn’t be a problem. Once Throk got his hands on the project, he’d come up with some genius way to distribute the heat around the still. The old Marshling might even have a better method by now. Perhaps a way to heat the metal directly, but that was up to him to solve. For now, the alchemist was happy with the stills. He was even happier with the way he commanded the Dreamwalk.

Tresk returned after a while, whistling at the new, massive still.

“Felt something weird shiver through the realm,” she said, slapping the side of the still and burning her hand. She cursed. “That’s hot.”

“They’re always hot,” Theo said. “I forced the Dreamwalk to let me have a big still.”

“I forced it to make Marshy,” Tresk said, pointing at the horizon.

Alex chirped her agreement, conjuring bugs to eat.

“See? She gets it.”

“It seems easier for you,” Theo said, making a mental note of that. “No idea why.”

Tresk shrugged, scooping Alex. She dumped the gosling into the harbor and watched her swimming around. Theo took a break from his experiments, sitting at the edge of the water and kicking his feet.

“It really feels like something is coming, huh?” Tresk asked.

Theo waved the question away. He wasn’t afraid of what was outside of the walls anymore. Preparation was the thing that would save them, and they had plenty of that. Maybe a bit too much‌.

“I’m more worried about going broke before we get our boats rolling,” Theo said. “Can’t figure out the pitch thing.”

“Is that your job?” Tresk asked, snorting a laugh. “I thought that angry ship-building lady was working on the problem.”

“Isn’t it my job?” Theo asked. He really couldn’t tell. It seemed like something an alchemist would do.

“Not sure it is, buddy,” Tresk said, slapping him on the back. “Thought I saw her workers boiling a bunch of wood.”

“Ogre Cypress?” Theo asked.

“Yep.”

If anything could produce pitch, it was the fleshy white part of the Ogre Cypress trees. The first two properties on the item were [Cure Ailment] and [Cleanse]. There was a possibility that the third one could be something sticky, good enough to be used as caulking for the boats. Then again, Theo had the [Solidify] modifier. But that would simply work on potions, not the gaps of boards. Then again, this might not be his domain. With a sigh, he resigned himself to trusting the knowledge of an expert. If they boiled the bark to get their pitch, that’s how Broken Tusk would do it. Theo needed those boats.

The haze of the Dreamwalk seemed to float by as Theo considered the days to come. He held a request in his mind, something he wouldn’t verbalize to his new shipwright. Those boats needed to be done yesterday. Even a small boat would be a boon. When he thought about the problem more, it stuck out more. The endless loop of amplifying worry was cut. Calming waves of warmth flowed from Alex. The alchemist forgot why he was so concerned. There was plenty to be done in town. They had Fenian as a contact, and 2 towns to trade with. Everything would be fine.

Theo wouldn’t want it to stop, but the sudden shift in his thinking didn’t go unnoticed. He watched Alex playing in the water, wondering what kind of lodestone she was.

“Ever notice how calming she is?” Theo asked, pointing at the playing gosling. “I get worried about nothing and then… Well, there she is.”

“I noticed,” Tresk said. “Dunno if she’s doing it on purpose, but it’s been cutting through my murderous rage.”

“We’ll count it as a good thing.”

The pair split off again, tending to their own training. Theo kept his focus on his alchemy core, but didn’t neglect his herbalism core. Getting his personal level to 20 was the plan, and it didn’t matter if his herbalism core was along for the ride. The [Governance Core] would provide more than enough experience to push him over the end—the damn thing was almost at level 19.

The Dreamwalk ended after many more tests with the stills. Theo got a notification that his [Tara’hek Core] leveled to 21, and his [Governance Core] leveled to 19. He walked with Tresk to eat the leftover wolf meat cheese stew, something he didn’t know he’d like at first. But as a breakfast option, it was too heavy. The alchemist cut it with Zee bread, dipping it into the stew and sipping his tea between bites. That was enough to tone down the overpowering flavors and jump-start his day.

“See, if I go to Throk first… That just sets the day up for disaster,” Theo said.

“Well, I can feel you itching to talk to the Elf trader,” Tresk said. She’d already dumped the soup down her gullet.

Before Theo could decide what to do, Alise found him in the tavern. She joined them for breakfast and took her time eating the leftover stew, chatting about small topics. The most important topic she covered was Sledge’s fabrication abilities. Alise and Nira had the Marshling install an air conditioner in their house, mounting it high on a wall. The cooling effect was impressive, but she was edging closer to an ability to exploit the [Synergistic] upgrade on the town. With more people ordering her fine work, it was only a matter of time.

Alise, Theo, and Alex left Tresk to her adventuring. They marched over to the town hall and took their large meeting room, taking their time to get settled. Gwyn was missing from the meeting, off handling some issues with the Elves for the morning. That left the pair of them to get down to something Alise seemed proud of.

“I spoke with Fenian,” Alise started, tapping her fingers together and grinning. “He wasn’t interested in hauling bulk goods, but I’ve convinced him.”

“Just like that?”

“No. Not really. I’ve been wearing him down over the past few trips,” Alise said. “It was Nira’s idea, actually. She complained we weren’t exporting enough metal. Saw it as a shame.”

“What buyers is he targeting?” Theo asked.

“Elves. I think. Taranthians? Taranthiams? How do you say ‘the people of Tarantham’?”

“Taranthians,” Theo said. “Which house?”

“The dominant house, actually. The one that destroyed House Wavecrest. House Baelstar.”

“That’s not ominous or anything,” Theo said.

There was some moral issue there the alchemist couldn’t find. This wouldn’t count as direct trade with the Elves, since Fenian was acting as a fence. It was still a solution for the short-term, putting a stop to their hemorrhaging finances. It might not have sat right with him, putting his entire fate into Fenian’s hands, but there was nothing they could do until the boats were built.

“This is our only plan,” Alise said. “He won’t have a price for us right away, and he’ll be gone for about a week.”

“I like it,” Theo said. “Thanks for sorting that out. Anything else to report?”

“Just a lot of numbers about the new Elves. We lost a few more last night,” Alise said. “Only 2 this time.”

“They broke the contract?” Theo asked.

“They did. But I’m not surprised. I had them marked on my list as trouble-makers. They refused to sign the contract until I threatened to kick them out.”

“Another layer of defense.”

“Exactly,” Alise said, clapping her hands to punctuate the idea. “Well, I have a candidate for your tailoring position. They slipped through the cracks—didn’t report all their cores—but they’re not happy about working the fields.”

“Funny,” Theo said, running his clawed fingers through Alex’s plumage. She nestled in his bag, chirping as though he owed her worms. It was possible he owed her some worms. “They could have avoided that if they were just honest. Maybe the contract-breakers put a fire under their asses.”

“I think so.”

“Should I plant the [Weaver’s Seed Core] near the farm, or in the town’s center?”

“We’re looking at the center of town as more of an artisan’s area,” Alise said. “There’s a lot of unused space between the center and Miana’s ranch.”

Theo consulted his map, finding plenty of free plots around the monolith. Any of them would be fine, but it made sense to keep it away from the sawmill. Whisper, the butcher, didn’t seem to care about the noise, but there was no sense exposing others to it. The alchemist rose from his chair and looked out the window, peering down at the road that ran north-south. He could see the Newt and Demon from here, along with part of Zarali’s enchanter’s workshop. An idea hit him before he could resist.

“Maybe it’s time to see if our fabricator can tell the roads where to go.”