Pale evening light shone across the plains northeast of Broken Tusk. From his perch on the wall, Theo could almost spot the place where he was attacked. Slightly too distant and already repaired, the place should have struck him in the heart. A dagger-like spike driven into his heart, thrust by the Zagmon assassin. But those feelings never came. Not just from the comforting defensive towers resting near him, but the strength of the bond in his chest. Tresk stood nearby, looking out over the horizon as Alex honked.

“She’s real honky today,” Tresk said.

Theo nodded in response, still staring off in the distance. Plumes of dark black smoke rose from the harbor, a signal of the shipwright’s ineptitude. That might have been harsh, but the alchemist had high standards when it came to the creation of materials. Especially when those materials ran so close to his expertise. He recalled the description on the [Ogre Cypress Pitch], a material generated from the burning of the massive trees. It was labeled as an [Alchemy Ingredient], placing it firmly in his domain.

But he wouldn’t fault Laedria for working hard, trying to fulfill his order for a trader-style ship. Or was it a boat? Whatever the name of the vessel, the creation of pitch was the slowest part. His [Reagent Deconstruction] ability might be able to help, but it required experimentation. And time.

“Is that a boat?” Tresk asked, pointing toward the harbor.

Running down the channel, headed out to sea, was a single-masted boat. The Cork. Theo squinted, trying to get a better look at it, but it was too distant. They could only see the top of the mast as it passed down that wide waterway.

“I guess someone bought it,” Theo said.

“Bet it was Thronk,” Tresk said, chuckling.

“Get a few fishing nets on that thing. Skirt around the harbor, maybe fish the channel out to the open sea… Yeah, they’ll pull in some fish,” Theo said.

“Thinking of buying my brother’s business?” Tresk asked. “Sounds like you. Fascist.”

Theo almost rose to that, but realized the word suited his rule of the town. But he had no interest in buying a fishing business, let alone one owned by Thronk. It was a miracle the man even fed himself, let alone made any profit. The fishers of the town relied on [Water Motes] for their income. It was a silly strategy, seeing as [Earth Motes] were much more common. But they’d survived all these years, so who was he to judge? They were low on his list of priorities, as always.

“Maybe they need some help from the state.”

“Fascist says what?”

Theo narrowed his eyes at Tresk.

“Alright,” she said, holding her hands up. “I just skimmed that word from your brain. You’ve been thinking about it.”

With a sigh, Theo turned to regard his town. He saw the people moving around below, concluding their business for the day. Not that the fading light stopped Sledge from working her ass off. An Ogre Cypress fell in the distance, rumbling the ground. It was a sound that all citizens were used to by now. No one below flinched, and life went on.

“Is your shift over?” Theo asked. “I’m hungry.”

“You’re never hungry. But, yeah. Let’s eat.”

The pair enjoyed a pleasant dinner at Xam’s tavern. There were no unexpected interruptions to ruin the mood, and they soon found themselves soaking in the hot bath. Worries melted away as they discussed small topics. Alex was looking more like a real goose by the day, although her stage was still at [Gosling]. At level 6, she’d come a long way from when she was hatched. They still hadn’t figured out how to maximize her experience gain, but she was doing fine on her own.

“Think she’ll ever talk?” Tresk asked, gesturing to the swimming gosling.

“You’re the one that’s good at reading my mind. Can you read hers?” Theo asked.

“Kinda. All I get is a great sense that I should be eating bugs,” Tresk said, shrugging.

While the desire to check the conversations in his kingdom screen was great, Theo avoided that. He’d checked it at dinner, and was disappointed to see the shouting match between Alise an Alran. The leader of Rivers and Daub had hidden resources from her, and was doing his best to mend hurt feelings. At least he was trying, though. It wasn’t a surprise that the man would be trouble, not when their first interaction was an assassination attempt. Now his actions affected them all.

Putting aside those unpleasant thoughts, Theo enjoyed his bath. He took a stroll with Tresk afterward, not enjoying the warm night air. It was nice to stay up when the moons were out, even if the darkened one was nearly invisible. He searched for a long time without spotting it, but found comfort in the idea that the inquisition of the Burning Eye was stuck there. They stopped by the harbor, spotting the Cork coming into port. As expected, Tresk’s brother was the captain. Instead of sticking around, they wandered toward the lab.

Heading into the Dreamwalk for the night, Theo had several goals. Without the need to grind experience, he wanted to learn more about his new magic. He also needed to find a weapon that worked with both his new wards, and his potions. There was an idea, but he couldn’t get each to combine. He started by focusing on his gear, those pieces that allowed him to throw things better.

“Throwing weapons are common enough,” Tresk said, summoning a simple throwing knife. “I throw stuff often enough. Especially poisoned stuff.”

“Toru’aun’s magic is based on reactive intent,” Theo said, creating his own knife. “Maybe I can work with that.”

“Not to mention your constructs. What’s stopping you from just tossing constructs at people? Stone knives, maybe?”

Theo settled on the idea of a throwing weapon making sense. But it would be more than something it hit someone with. A combination of warded, poisoned, and construct-infused throwing weapons might be worth pursuing. That gave him the flexibility to use them as poisoned throwing daggers, or ward delivery systems. Without an expanded knowledge of Toru’aun’s magic, his plan hit a stand-still.

They settled down in the dream version of Broken Tusk’s harbor to talk it out, watching as Alex played in the water. Theo retold the story of Xol’sa being wounded, and shared his worries for the Elf. His initial confidence in finding a cure ran up against the reality of the injury.

“Your best bet is to import a healer,” Tresk said, nodding to herself. She kicked her feet in the water, slashing water at Alex. The gosling produced a honk-chirp of disapproval.

“I’m going to study magic tonight. Throwing weapons are a good idea, I need to learn more spells, though,” Theo said.

“Alright. I’m gonna fight stuff.”

Theo nodded, watching as his companion disappeared.

The first [Advanced Ward] Theo had learned was [Lesser Defense]. Pieces of that spell linked together, creating the story that fueled the spell. The alchemist summoned writing material, and began the laborious process of writing everything down. With a vision aid, it might be easier to understand how he could create another node to feed the spell. He spent hours in the dream realm staring at the paper, writing new things in the strange, custom language of the Demon God with little luck.

Alex waddled out of the harbor after a while, trundling over to the paper and placing a wet, webbed foot on the page. Theo gave her a look. She honked in his face, jabbing her bill into the page.

“Alright,” Theo said, looking at the part of the spell she’d indicated.

From what he could understand, the portion of the spell she’d doused was the defensive part of the spell. He’d taken to thinking of it like spokes on a wheel, where each segment connected to a hub, and a wheel to create the entire thing. While it was more complicated than that, this helped him visualize how other pieces would fit in. The damp footprint pulled everything together in his mind.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Why didn’t I see that?” Theo asked.

The story was rife with filler. Connecting phrases that had something to do with the magic, but they were less important than the relevant sections. He saw the part of the story about the Dronon forming their defensive wall as the meat of the spell. That was the thing that gave the spell life. Understanding that, he found another section that curled around it. The part of the story where the Dronon counter-attacked seemed especially useful. It was the trigger for the spell. The alchemist drilled down onto each piece, finding more as he went. Until he realized how hard his [Toru’aun Mage’s Core] was spinning in his chest.

“Because the story matters less than the connective tissue?” Theo asked.

Alex produced an angry honk.

“Because… Wait, is there a connection elsewhere?” Theo asked.

A honk of approval.

Out of instinct, Theo produced a small vial of [Reveal Essence]. Toru’aun had thrown him off the trail. There was a connection between the forms of magic each Demon God used. Holding his hand out, Theo focused on drawing the primal nature of the [Reveal Essence] out. Black smoke rose from the vial, leaving behind a grainy dust that glowed silver. The Dreamwalk objected to his actions, but he pushed against it. Asserting his authority over Tero’gal and the Dreamwalk. It obeyed, for now.

Theo poured the [Primal Reveal] into his hand and stared at it for a long time. Between that powdery substance and his spellcraft, there was a connection. Some fundamental state that completed a circle. Not one to ignore the whispers of his cores, especially in the Dreamwalk, the alchemist licked his finger, pressed it into the dust, then placed it on his tongue. A rolling sense, like lightning dancing across his tongue, and then he felt something flood into his mind.

But system messages were hesitant to show themselves in the Dreamwalk, no matter how hard he forced his authority. Alex’s growing honks got him curious as to what the primal essence had added. The alchemist poked around in his interfaces before he found something. In his core screen, where he viewed all his currently slotted cores, there was a menu near his [Toru’aun Mage’s Core]. A list of spell components.

“Bingo.”

Honk.

There were a lot of confusing parts about the spells, but Theo could view the pieces he’d learned in the interface. There were 3 entries in the list, each providing a description of the part’s mode, the story he’d use to craft the spell, and the effects of the component.

[Attack]

[Ward Trigger Component]

Causes a ward to activate when attacked.

[Shield]

[Ward Effect Component]

Generates a shield, based on conditions.

[Reveal]

[Ward Effect Component]

Generates a field of reveal, based on conditions.

The most important thing Theo took away from it was that alchemy fed directly into his magic, now. He drew out the same spell he’d used before, following the parts of the story in his interface. Now the story was about a group of Dronon who were hiding from an enemy attack. They were still the last of their kind, and they were still losing the battle. But when he chanted the spell, applying it to an imagined stone, the ward contained within was different.

[Lesser Reveal]

[Advanced Ward]

Creates a reactive field of [Reveal]. Field only activates when attacked.

Trigger:

Attack

Duration:

1 day.

The last observation he made was that this form of taking alchemy effects and applying them to Toru’aun’s magic didn't go the other way. Theo didn’t have access to the [Defense] property on any reagents, and he couldn’t create it from the spell component. Stabbing the small stone with a dagger, Theo noted the field of [Reveal] that sprung up. It was very similar to using the property as a construct, but once the field diminished the stone was still active.

“Thanks for the tip,” Theo said, patting Alex on the head. “You are a smart goose, aren’t you?”

She honked in response, but the alchemist could feel more from that sound than just a honk. There was an underlying appreciation and willingness to work together. The alchemist stood, nodding as he realized the error in his ways. He should have been helping the gosling train, right?

“Alright,” Theo said. “So you can breathe fire, now?”

Alex honked in response.

“Let’s work on that.”

Theo worked with Alex for the rest of the night, coaching her on the fire attack. When they began, he got the impression that Tresk had already begun working with her. There was an underlying knowledge the gosling had about the flames, as though it were inherint within her. When she produced the first plume of fire, it struck a ridiculous scene. Still downy, and barely coming up to the alchemist’s knees, her bill opened up and fire rushed forth. The ball of feathers produced a stream of fire like a flamethrower, only stopping to cough up clouds of black smoke.

“Fire goose,” Theo said, patting her on the head.

While training with Alex, Theo spoke of advice as much as he did theories. Ideas on how to help Xol’sa get over the soul-slaying attack that bore no fruit. The only potions he had that cured specific things were his disease-curing potions and those that restored either limbs or digits. Nothing in his current arsenal healed the soul directly, but there were several unexplored options.

“I’ve always held the idea that the [Reagent Deconstruction] skill would allow me to learn more properties,” Theo said, watching as Alex shot another plume of fire. “Nice one.”

There was a list of ingredients that Theo hadn’t found the second property to, yet. Let alone the third property. Zarali claimed there was an entire universe of properties within each reagent, leading to further problems. But, the alchemist was content with understanding those that were readily available. Discovering the second property was done through eating the reagent, but his skill would discover the others.

“Focusing on which ones make sense,” Theo said, ducking his head to avoid another fireball. “[Spriggan Hearts] might have a useful third property. [Rejuvenate] might be helpful, too. [Swamp Truffles] might be worth inspecting. [Living Water]? Yeah, maybe. [Pozwa Horns] would give me a hat trick. Nothing else comes to mind.”

Honk.

“Right. We also have to consider the combinations of reagents,” Theo said. “Reducing essences to primals, then binding them with a [Suffuse Potion]. That could open a world of potions all on its own. What properties, when combined, would cure the soul?”

Chirp. Honk.

“No, I don’t feel as though [Regeneration] and [Cure Ailment] would work,” Theo said.

Honk.

“True enough. We’re talking about an extremely specific type of cure. I wouldn’t have thought [Healing] and [Regeneration] would create the limb-restoration potion.”

Honk. Honk honk.

“Well, if I had more undead pieces, I could test that. I’ve only ever seen a [Reanimated Skeleton Fragment], and that was system-generated. It produces the [Withering] property, which is alright for poisons. Not so much for cures.”

Honk honk honk honk… chirp.

“Indeed. We assume the undead attacking Gronro are reanimated by Balkor. Which means, of course, if they produce reagents they’ll be completely different. Balkor fell, right?” Honk. “If he fell, then there are pieces of him. You have to think about what those pieces produce, huh?”

Alex nodded.

“Are you talking to the goose?” Tresk asked. “Can you actually understand her?”

“No. Just feels better if I pretend I can,” Theo said. “Explaining a problem aloud can often be helpful.”

“Or… Hear me out on this one… You’re going nuts.”

“Well, I’m currently sitting in a dream realm. That dream realm is a reflection of my personal realm, which seems to be another dimension. Talking to my salamander-person life-bonded soul-mate thing while watching my goose shoot fire,” Theo said, running his fingers through Alex’s feathers. “Insanity would be an easy explanation for this.”

“Alright. Point taken,” Tresk said.

“I talked to your dad about making an airship,” Theo said, breaking away from the previous topic.

“How did that go?” Tresk said, drawing herself up. She did her best impression of her father. “Don’t I have enough work already? You’re working me to the bone, alchemist. I’m just so mad and grumpy all the time.”

“He reacted better than that,” Theo said. “Seemed interested in the problem.”

“Flying ships, right? Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the drawback? Why don’t we see them everywhere?”

“They’re hard to operate, according to him. It’s easy for someone to mess with the magic that runs the artifices. We’d need someone with powerful counter-magic potential to fly one,” Theo said.

“Someone with a class dedicated to warding, and a lab filled with [Anti-Mage] potions?” Tresk asked, wiggling her tail excitedly. “Alright, I’m on board. Screw the sailing ships, we need a flying one.”

Theo waved that thought away. There needed to be a drawback to flying ships, if most people used sailing ships. The continent wasn’t as advanced as the others, but there should have been some flying machines. It was likely a matter of cost, since artifices ran on motes. They likely ran on a lot of motes, making them prohibitively expensive. But the idea just wouldn’t leave his mind. He imagined himself flying over Rivers and Daub, lording over them with a massive airship.

“Kinda sounds like a weapon of war, though,” Tresk said.

“I don’t object to us having weapons of war,” Theo said. “That’s just a fact of life. I just don’t want to sell them to other people.”

“Alright. Let’s go. The dream is ending. We can ask around to see what people know about airships. Hey, if only there were a bunch of people from a more-advanced continent in town.”

“Funny how things fall into place like that.”