The sound of horns clashing echoed across the flat plain near Miana’s ranch. Those horns locked together, the heads of the demonic-looking creatures twisting to gain purchase. But the fight was broken up as soon as it started. A ranch hand ran over, swatting at the beasts and whistling. The Half-Ogre proprietor of the land came over to lean on the fence, watching as Theo observed the scuffle.

“Want a pet wolf?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Scampering around the woman’s legs, clinging to her thigh-high leather boots and spitting balls of smoke, were no less than 5 salamanders. They were red, streaked with black with sharp teeth and slitted eyes. Tails thrashing, they sent a volley of harmless smoke at the alchemist. Alex glared at them, ready to release fire of her own.

“Seems like all you have is [Fire Salamanders],” Theo said.

“I’m working my way up.”

Miana found and bought the [Monster Tamer’s Core] on her own. She learned from those around her, tackling smaller creatures rather than going directly for the wolves. Unprompted, she explained how the core worked. Monsters spawned either in waves, or in dungeons, were unavailable. She could only tame those that wandered on their own, but they needed to be monsters. If she tried to tame a wild Karatan, that wouldn’t work. The creature needed to have a [Proto Core] inside them, or the magic would fail.

“Are we going to see some Half-Ogres riding some wolves?” Theo asked, chuckling. “That’s something I’d pay to see.”

“Agreed,” Miana said, turning around and snapping her fingers. A ranch hand stood at attention, stumbled over, then waited for orders. “Grab the Archduke’s [Pozwa Horns].”

The young Elf scrambled away. Theo produced the scrimshaw abomination from his inventory, handing it over for the woman to inspect.

“What’s this supposed to be?” she asked. “Those monster-dogs from the mine?”

“Supposed to be me.”

“Keep practicing.”

Benton’s idea for Theo to take something up unrelated to his cores reminded him of Miana. The tangled web of deception didn’t evade him, but he preferred not to think about it. She was without her cores for at least 20 years, forced to live life with no classes. But she got along. She did her best to hold up her end of the cursed deal. That web had fallen away. Untangled itself from her heart and revealed a hard-working woman with a passion for animals. There was no better core combination for her.

“There’s a moral question to consider,” Theo said. Instinctively, he let his senses fall onto the lodestone network. His golems were working away. Some complained there were few [Mana Constructs] left in the chest, but he’d get to that today. Before night fell. “I’d happily send my golems out to die. What about tamed creatures?”

“Think I haven’t thought of that?” Miana asked. She kicked behind her without looking, planting her foot on the head of a charging Pozwa. The creature chittered before backing away. “When I tame the wolves, I see them as support creatures. I won’t place one with irresponsible adventurers.”

“Fair enough,” Theo said.

The alchemist looked at Alex. He wouldn’t send her into combat, not even with her fire attacks. The gosling hopped from her bag, then onto the fence. She stretched her wings and honked, some of her downy feathers falling away. Her neck was growing longer, and the yellow coloration of her down was giving way to a pattern of gray. She honked at Miana, who picked at waxy feathers and shook her head.

“She’s growing fast,” Miana said. “But you need to help her remove all these little baby feathers. Look, you can see her adult feathers coming in.”

Theo inspected his goose, seeing that new feathers were emerging from her flesh. They were covered in a waxy coating, something that Miana picked off with her fingernails. Alex honked and chirped with excitement with every gesture, preening the area afterward. The Half-Ogre woman was always good with animals, but the alchemist didn’t know when she’d worked with birds. Let alone Earth geese.

“I’m wondering if her growth is tied to her level, or time,” Theo said.

“Likely both,” Miana said. “My Karatan have levels. Level 10 is adulthood for them, but we’re rearing a baby that’s pushing adulthood at level 5.”

“You can never discount the energy in the air,” Theo said. “I never thought it would work on animals, but here we are.”

“You wanted Demonic Karatan,” Miana said, leveling her gaze at the alchemist. “You wanted to warp my precious babies.”

Theo shrugged. That was true, but the plan didn’t work. To distract from an old sin, the alchemist gave Alex a command. “Shoot some fire, little fire-goose.”

Alex honked, tilting her head back before shooting a plume of fire into the air.

“How does that work?” Miana said, having taken several healthy steps backwards.

“Magic.”

Theo had fun spending time at the ranch. He whittled away the day, practicing some carving on the edge of the paddock. The Elven ranch hand returned after a while with the [Pozwa Horns], handing them over to the alchemist. His last task for the day wouldn’t come until nightfall. Rounding up adventurers for the event fell to Tresk, leaving the alchemist free to play with the Pozwa and Karatan. Alex wasn’t interested in playing with the farm animals, though.

Walking back to the center of town, Theo saw a troubling sight. Near the monolith, where a black portal normally rested, was nothing. Xol’sa’s condition was worsening. A sharp reminder drove its way into his mind, and he rushed back to his lab. Waving to Salire, then scrambling up the stairs into his lab, the alchemist found the ingredients to craft several [Regenerative Potions]. When Fenian returned, he’d need them if Uz’Xulven could be trusted.

Finishing up with the potions, another idea came into Theo’s mind. Salire shouted something at him as he rushed out of the Newt and Demon. He hurried north, then took the avenue west to the Adventurer’s Guild. The building was buzzing with activity, even after a partial-hush washed over those assembled. He spotted Tresk talking to some adventurers, but took the stairs to the second floor. One knock on Aarok’s door and he let himself in to find a meeting in progress.

Gwyn and Alise looked up, and Luras laughed.

“War meeting?” Theo asked, finding an inconspicuous corner to stand in. “I just have some concerns.”

“Since you’re here,” Aarok said, shifting in his seat. The air that blew from his air conditioner made the room bearable. It was normally too stuffy. “Alise wants to attack Rivers.”

Theo shrugged. So long as he didn’t have to deal with it, he didn’t really care how they resolved the problem with them. But they already had a plan. Didn’t they?

“I thought we had a strategy for that,” Theo said. “Surely Azrug talked about it.”

“Well, perhaps if that Alran Cherman son of a—”

“Remember to breathe,” Gwyn said, interrupting and placing a calming hand on Alise’s shoulder.

“That guy has enough gold and food stored to last a decade,” Luras said, grunting. “Didn’t see fit to share. Still doesn’t want to share.”

“An attack sounds expensive,” Theo said, waving the thought of war away. “And we’d drop our link with Gronro.”

“Azrug thinks we can starve them out,” Gwyn said. “Not literally. But with supplies.”

“We can also threaten to cut them off from the [Kingdom Core],” Theo said. “Resolve this a different way, we don’t need to fight. Get Alran to give up the Chair position and dissolve the others. He’s better as a spy than a leader.”

Aarok shared a look with Luras. “I like that.”

“Why are you here?” Alise asked.

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“I think you meant to say ‘Why are you here, Archduke’,” Luras said, laughing. “Don’t forget the pecking order.”

“Theo entrusted Gwyn and I with Lady titles,” Alise snapped. She took a steadying breath.

“Alright, Alise,” Theo said. “We’ve been here before. What’s going on?”

“She’s stressed out,” Gwyn said. “She has too much work managing the other towns as well as Broken Tusk.”

“The new problem is the old problem,” Aarok said.

Theo folded his arms, tapping his foot. “I sent Gael Wavecrest to help you guys.”

“We’re getting him up to speed,” Gwyn said.

“Alright. Direct action time.” Theo opened his administration interface. He opened an empty conversation with Alran. Just between them.

[Theo]: Report to Broken Tusk tomorrow.

[Alran]: I haven’t done anything. Tell your dog to back off.

[Theo]: Report to Broken Tusk tomorrow or an army will arrive at your city. From the north and the south.

[Alran]: You don’t have to do this.

[Theo]: You won’t listen to anything else!!! Just show up, dude. We have a proposal for you, and you’ll like it.

[Alran]: Stop being coy.

[Theo]: You’re going to dissolve the Merchant Chairs, give the Duke position to someone else, and take a new title.

[Alran]: That’s all? You’re getting your undies in a twist over this? What’s the new position?

[Theo]: Spymaster.

[Alran]: Oh, my. I’ll be there tomorrow. Bright and early. You won’t be disappointed, Archduke. <3

Theo winced at the sight of the emoji heart. “Done.”

The group had been arguing. Theo’s focus was on the conversation, so he’d missed all of it.

“What?” Alise asked.

Theo pushed off from the wall and shrugged. “I messaged Alran. He’s interested in dissolving the Merchant Chairs, installing a new Duke, and taking the Spymaster position.”

“That was easy,” Aarok said.

Alise seemed to deflate. The alchemist placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Sometimes that woman was like a dog with a bone. She wouldn’t give it up for anything, even when something better came along. There were facts that Alran couldn’t ignore. Rivers and Daub would fall without Broken Tusk. That might have been only because Gronro would fall in line with Broken Tusk, but there it was. The Duke of River’s never wanted to be a leader in that way. His interest seemed to rest solely with spy craft.

The entire exchange reminded Theo of Luras. When the Half-Ogre was forced by his dying uncle to take a [Leatherworker’s Core] instead of the adventuring core he wanted. Forced into doing something he didn’t want to do, he’d become sullen. A grim conviction to honor the memory of a dead family member. Alran wasn’t so different.

“I should just resign,” Alise said.

“Yeah, we’ll put you on the battlements of Gronro,” Theo said. “No, this is my fault. When you blew up on Alran in the chat, I should have stepped in.”

“You’re the Archduke‌,” Aarok said, chuckling. “That’s your job.”

Theo tapped his foot. “Failure is part of learning. Broken Tuskers learn better from failure than anything else. I’m sorry you’re stressed out, Alise. I should have concluded that I could bully Alran earlier.”

“Understanding how to throw your weight around in a leadership role is difficult,” Luras said. “Consider that Alran didn’t take Alise seriously because she’s only a Lady. Not a Duchess.”

Theo cleared his throat. “Right. Now that we’ve got that sorted, I need to lay out some… Uh, bad news.”

The alchemist had only put this together in the last few moments. As he crafted the limb-regeneration potion, his mind lingered on Fenian. Things followed that man over the Bridge. The Elven construct was a good example. If he couldn’t send a warning beforehand, he would have sent it through the next best thing. Uz’Xulven delivered that warning, although she shrouded it in as many shadows as her realm contained.

“Fenian is going to arrive the day after tomorrow,” Theo said. “I suspect he’s going to arrive with trouble. He’ll be wounded with some horrors trailing behind.”

“Classic Spencer,” Luras said. “We’ll prepare for a defense.”

“Assume we’re looking at an army,” Theo said. “The good news is, I think I can sense when he’s close.”

Aarok gave Theo a discerning glare. “I assume this is related to when you disappeared on the road.”

“I have access to a godly realm now,” Theo said.

Gwyn let out an audible gasp. Theo didn’t think it was anything special, but that was far from the truth. No mortal laid claim to a physical realm. Not even Khahar had that ability in life. The Khahari leader’s realm was intangible, although it washed over most of the Khahari desert. From what the alchemist understood about it, he was the first mortal with a realm and the only one who could visit it.

“This is my surprised face,” Aarok said. His face didn’t change.

“Unexpected, overpowered Karatanshit abilities are normal,” Luras said.

There was more Theo wanted to tell them. He wanted to talk about how his realm overlapped Drogramath’s. How he shared tea with a god every day. That might be too much information for the meeting.

“Fine. That’s it for today, Gwyn and Alise. I’d like to have a private word with our Archduke,” Aarok said.

The pair of administrators seemed reluctant to leave. After a few tense moments, they went. Luras and Aarok gave Theo a piercing look.

“How far does this road go, Theo?” Luras asked.

The alchemist fell down into a now-vacant chair. He let out a sigh, then a shrug. “Convergences. Like two rivers coming together to form something larger. Fates mingling together to form something else. Something new.”

“Something brighter?” Aarok asked.

“I think so,” Theo said. “My command over Tero’gal is absolute. Well, it’s one third of the equation. Alex and Tresk command it, too.”

“The realm has physical effects, doesn’t it?” Luras asked.

“The power is already bleeding into Broken Tusk. Rivaling Drogramath’s,” Theo said. “Khahar is making a mess of the heavens. Fenian is up to something, pushing things here on the mortal plane. I can’t help but think we’re all part of something else.”

Aarok stood, nodding resolutely. “Nothing different, then. Business as usual in Broken Tusk.”

“Agreed,” Luras said.

Of all the people in town, Luras and Aarok were those Theo trusted the most. Outside of the Tara’hek, that is. Both were stalwart Half-Ogres. Honorable and wise beyond their years, the pair of them had a non-nonsense attitude toward everything.

“What’s your opinion on Alise and Gwyn?” Theo asked.

“Well, Gwyn is the level-headed one,” Aarok said. “I’d promote her to the leadership position over Alise, but…”

“But what?”

“Well, what’s the point?” Luras asked, finishing Aarok’s thoughts. “Alise needs to suffer to grow. Take her Lady title away. Throw her to the gutter. Where does that get you? A step back and a person short. A smart person, Theo. Don’t forget that.”

“People don’t grow overnight. As much as you want that to happen,” Aarok said. “Keep throwing her into the fire. She’ll learn.”

Nothing got Broken Tuskers down. Not when everything went to hell and the chips were down. They just kept fighting no matter what. They saw the best in people, even if they didn’t deserve it. Adaptive, and wise. That was the Broken Tusk way.

The conversation steered away from serious things. Theo sat and spoke with his friends about his realm. About how they could leverage those things for the betterment of their town. For their nation. The alchemist produced [Wheat] from his inventory and placed it on Aarok’s table. Simple, uninteresting wheat that one would find on Earth.

“A plant from your home world?” Aarok asked, raising the bristled crop for inspection. “Seems kinda small.”

“It’s uncultivated,” Theo said with a shrug. “Might be nice to have some proper bread.”

“Still curious about the whole realm thing,” Luras said.

But no discoveries were found within Aarok’s cramped office that evening. Theo departed after a while, finding his way to the Marsh Wolf Tavern for some dinner. The power of the [Stamina Potion] flowed through his body, jolting his senses to wakefulness. Since gaining the Dreamwalk ability, the alchemist experienced something other than tiredness. On the rare occasion he stayed up beyond dusk, his body produced something closer to an urgency to return to that dream realm. With his senses buzzing, and the conversational hum of the tavern, he was brought to a higher state of wakefulness.

It didn’t help that Tresk had invited their entire adventuring party for dinner.

“I’m paying for it!” she shouted, shoving her body weight against a table. She was joining several together to allow the 10 adventurers she’d recruited to sit together.

Most of those seated at the table were familiar faces. Old adventurers that were there when he arrived in Broken Tusk. Gael joined with them, although he held no cores for combat. He simply wanted to sit with the other Wavecrest Elves that were present. The old Elf, looking as though he’d been drawn thin like iron under the hammer of an over-eager blacksmith, offered a sheepish smile.

“Your administrator is depressed,” he said.

“She’s working on herself,” Theo said, finding a seat with the head of House Wavecrest. “And quite young.”

“To be a fiery youth again,” Gael said with a sigh.

“I’m fiery! I got youth!” Tresk shouted.

Theo scooted his chair closer to Gael. “I have a representative from Rivers and Daub coming tomorrow. Their Duke, Alran Cherman. We need to make sure you’re in on that meeting. So you can get used to the way administrators work.”

Gael nodded. “I’m ready.”

“Good. He seems interested in changing his title from Duke to Spymaster,” Theo said, “My hope is that it goes well. The previous strategy of pushing him away only caused more problems. We need to bring him into the fold.”

“I’m sure your more experienced administrators would have more to say about it, Archduke,” Gael said, bowing his head.

“Yeah, I don’t need you to take care of the entire thing. I just want you there so you can learn,” Theo said, drumming his fingers on the table. “Nah, I’m just looking at every shadow. Jumpy. Something is going to happen on the 10th. Not sure how worried I should be.”

“As worried as you can manage,” Tresk cackled. “When was the last time Feintleaf brought anything fun through that portal.”