Alise must have been plotting for a while. Moving all the right pieces behind the scenes so Theo wouldn’t notice. If she had approached him to assign him a permanent bodyguard, he would have declined. Not because he was too proud, but because it was a waste of resources. The walls were safe, after all. The alchemist sat in his massive library, shelves still empty, as Sarisa explained the situation.

“There’s another one!” Tresk said, poking her head from behind a curtain.

The others attending the dinner party were still chatting in the dining room. Tresk and Theo had retreated upstairs to discuss things with the new assistant. A large Half-Ogre man now stood at her side, baring most of the same features as the woman. The alchemist marked them as siblings before they explained themselves. He’d seen both of them around town, the man being a member of the Guild. Rowan Fletcher, owner of a potent stealth-style core. Tresk was his commander.

“Rowan Fletcher, sir,” the Half-Ogre man said, bowing. He wore the same style of clothes as his sister. A black button-up shirt with white pants. That couldn’t be practical for combat. He looked too dapper for a Broken Tusker.

“So Alise orchestrated this?” Theo asked.

“Yes,” Rowan said, still bowing.

Theo sunk deeper into his chair. He wanted to be upset, but could not produce the reaction. They should have led with Rowan as his butler. That would have made things easier. But a sibling pair struck something within him.

How is Rowan in the field? Theo asked. The pair of assistants remained silent.

He’s a beast. [Baelthar Shadowstalker’s Core]. That guy is good at making sure monsters don’t move. In my squads, he’s a floating specialist.

I like him, Alex said. The goose nipped at the man’s ankles, but he didn’t flinch.

Theo let them stew before he spoke again. “Siblings, right? Rowan, you’re the big brother.”

“That’s right,” Rowan said, still bowing.

“You can stand up straight. You’re my bodyguards, then?”

“That’s the idea,” Sarisa said.

“And servants. Assistants. Whatever you want to call us.”

Theo let out another sigh, sinking deeper into his chair. If he went any lower, his back would be on the seat cushion. This is the sort of loyalty he didn’t want. He understood a Broken Tusker’s desire to support him, but this took it too far. Maybe that was a good thing, though. The alchemist always claimed there were endless jobs within the town, why should he deny a pair of citizens that wanted guard duty? Or servants, for that matter. They could do whatever they wanted with their lives.

“Same contract as your sister,” Theo said, drawing up a duplicate of Sarisa’s contract. Rowan signed it without hesitation. “You’re the better fighter, Rowan?”

Rowan and Sarisa shared a look.

“That’s debatable,” Sarisa said.

“Fine. I’ll leave the assisting and guarding to your discretion. You can maintain your own homes, but I recommend you stay here. Both of you are excused from your duties with the guild.”

“Aw, man,” Tresk groaned. “You’re taking my boy away?”

Theo gave her a flat look, shaking his head. “I don’t need protection sometimes. I need it all the time, right?”

“Man. Fine. I’m gonna complain, though.”

“You always complain, Tresk.”

“Not always.”

Always, Alex said.

Sarisa and Rowan had a comprehensive plan for their duties. They explained it together, detailing how they’d been working with Alise for longer than Theo expected. Even more surprising, it was their idea. Mayors normally had a guard detail, while national leaders had even more. The alchemist had been unprotected for too long, and he wouldn’t disagree with their assessment.

Instead of turning in at their regular hour, Theo and Tresk worked with the new guards to place wards throughout the manor. The alchemist constructed several figures carved from bone and enchanted with [Reveal] for the pair to use. He also opened all the stock of the Newt and Demon for their personal use. They ended their parade around the manor in the kitchen.

“I’d like it if you wore armor, though,” Theo said. “Gear with stats.”

Sarisa and Rowan shared one of their looks. Something they seemed to do often.

“We thought a mage would notice,” Sarisa said, grasping a locket at her neck. The maid’s outfit dissolved in a sheet of gray smoke, revealing chain armor over a padded gambeson.

Rowan followed, revealing his light leather armor.

“An illusion,” Tresk said, gawking. “Alright, you guys are cool.”

With that sorted, there were only a few more things to do before bed. Theo described his schedule to the new assistants, including his ability to drop into an adjacent realm once a day. His [Tara’hek Core] was bound to level to 30 at any moment, resulting in a new skill. Both Sarisa and Rowan nodded as though that was a normal thing.

“We’re going to bed,” Theo said, heading to the second floor with Tresk and Alex. “See you in the morning.”

“Goodnight,” Sarisa and Rowan said in unison.

During the day, Theo had moved their beds from the Newt and Demon to the manor. Alex nestled in her little box while Theo and Tresk fell into their comfortable beds. They drifted into the Dreamwalk after only a moment.

“Alright, what’s your read on them?” Theo asked, feeling the soft grass of a random field depress under his feet.

“Broken Tuskers through and through. I’ve known both of them my entire life,” Tresk said. Theo felt a sense of pride when she said that, her emotions flooding through their connection. “Their parents still live in town. They’re both a few years older than me. I think Rowan is like… 30? Yeah, serious old man energy.”

“How about you, Alex?”

I love them. They are my best friends.

“Good enough for me.”

Theo had little he wanted to accomplish in the Dreamwalk tonight. He watched as Tresk ran off to fight more dragons. The alchemist sat in the field for some time, letting the breeze wash over him. As always, the sense was dulled in the Dreamwalk. It was nothing like the intense sensation he got in the mortal realm or Tero’gal.

Instead of worrying about the development of his assistants, Theo shifted the scene to the current version of Broken Tusk. He took up position on the eastern wall, looking toward the river. Tresk complained about the sudden shift. A dragon swooped far in the distance, tossing her a good mile with a swipe of its tail. Alex honked with delight.

“Farms run by golems near the river seems like a good idea.” Theo imagined ghostly farms stretching out, north of the east-running road and west of the river. Spectral monsters attacked the farm and the golems within, killing them all. “But no Broken Tuskers get hurt.”

Oh! My turn! Alex said.

The ground darkened below their feet. A massive, feathered airship appeared above. The hull was made of wood, but mottled with bright white feathers. A set of wings stretched to the side, flapping unevenly. It stayed in the air, despite the physical impossibility of the vessel. Alex’s imagination wasn’t there yet, but it was a good start.

“Want to test Throk’s gun? Can you remember it in detail?” Theo asked.

I can. I am good at remembering things.

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Alex turned, honking at the ground below the battlements. A poor recreation of Throk’s weapon appeared. It tilted to one side before falling over into a heap. Theo swiped the image from the Dreamwalk and remade it with his near-perfect memory. The alchemist jumped from the wall, landing near the weapon. The goose did her best attempt at flying, something she still hadn’t mastered. She fell in a tangled mess of wings and webbed feet.

The goose-ship lingered overhead, flapping in unpredictable intervals. Theo helped Alex up, untangle her from herself, before loading the weapon. Throk’s designs were always easy enough to understand, but this one was more complex than most. The modifications he’d made to the rail system made it doubly confusing with controls for both the launching rail and the braking rail. With the hook in place, and a dense bar of [Drogramathi Iron] as the payload, the alchemist cranked the launcher up to maximum.

“Ready?” Theo asked.

Ready!

The moment Theo pressed the launch button, the railgun exploded. It did send the payload to destroy the goose-ship, but it destroyed itself in the process. Both the alchemist and Alex were sent flying back by the violent, unplanned deconstruction of the weapon. The airship above spun, flapping uselessly against the gaping hole in its center. If this were the real world, both witnesses to the firing of the weapon would have been dead.

“The final design requires safety features,” Theo said.

No! That was awesome! Alex shouted into Theo’s mind.

The goose had been spending too much time with Tresk. But Theo couldn’t help but smile at the familiar’s excitement. They got back to working with Throk’s first design, testing to see how fast it could launch a potion. There was a balance between the toughness of the glass, and the maximum speed the object could be launched. Too thin, and it would explode on launch. Too thick and it wouldn’t detonate when hitting Alex’s imagined ship.

What about your mage-thing? Alex asked.

Theo tapped his foot on the cobbles of the town. A dragon swept through the air above, attacking Alex’s airship. From the ground, the alchemist could see Tresk battling away on the deck, ‘dying’ several times during the exchange.

“We could combine [Detect Enemy] with some sort of fire effect,” Theo said, withdrawing the appropriate reagents to accomplish the task. “But the Dreamwalk doesn’t take kindly to me breaking the rules.”

How about I help, Alex said, honking repeatedly.

Theo shrugged. He was willing to try anything in the weird realm. The alchemist held the shell of a [Fire Salamander Egg] in his hand, focusing with his [Reagent Deconstruction] ability. The Dreamrealm pushed back immediately, then Alex’s well swooped in. They pushed against the rules of the realm, and it gave way without much of a fight. Together they extracted the [Flame] effect for Toru’aun’s wards. They repeated the process, taking useful components until they had an array to test.

Oh, I have high hopes for [Force], Alex said.

Theo had high hopes for a lot of the effects he had learned. [Force] and [Flame] both came from the eggs, but there were others. [Poison], [Maim], and [Devour] fell into his ‘dangerous’ category, all from the [Widow Lily]. [Wind Shell], from [Roc Berries] might be interesting but he had doubts. Perhaps it was time for the goose to learn a lesson.

“Having the ability to make potions—wards for that matter—doesn’t mean you should,” Theo started. He imagined the potion he’d crafted with Tresk. The one he didn’t even want to think about. The liquid inside was a sickly green color, swirling to mix with a deep purple. “Do you understand how dangerous this is?”

Oh, extremely dangerous, Alex said, honking and bobbing her head.

“So you understand why we can never let this potion reach the real world.”

Yes, I understand. I’m not a child.

Theo let out a frustrated breath. “What about the properties are dangerous?”

Alex pecked at the potion with her bill. She was examining it. Theo joined with her, examining the potion.

[Imbue Phylactery]

[Potion]

Legendary

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Good Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Imbibing this potion removes your soul from your body, transferring it to an object of your choosing. Creating a phylactery designates you as undead, specifically a lich. You gain innate power of all undead creatures (based on your level and willpower), but may not level up through the normal system.

It was a vile thing. Theo had accidentally discovered a way to create a potion that made the drinker undead. Worse, it made them a lich. His cursory investigation into what being a lich meant didn’t bode well. The drinker would become immortal, so long as their phylactery remained intact, but they would be undead. They’d command Balkor’s hordes, twisting the souls of the dead to suit their needs. It made his stomach turn.

This potion is evil, Alex said, nodding her head.

“Yet I’m not evil.”

While we have powers, using them isn’t always an option, Alex said. We hide things like this away, so that others don’t use them.

“Not only do we hide it, we never talk about them. Any Drogramathi alchemist that can brew one of these should do the same, although I doubt any exist on the mortal plane.”

Can you be sure?

“Absolutely not. And there’s going to be other potions like this. Other potions that aren’t morally gray like my bombs. Evil potions, Alex. Things that could ruin people’s lives.”

We are the protectors of those secrets, Alex said, spreading her wings and flapping. I will protect the secrets with my life.

“Good goose,” Theo said, patting her on the head. “Chances are high that I was placed in Belgar’s body because I have a strong moral compass.”

Everyone has a breaking point.

Theo’s stomach twisted into knots, but he pushed it down. “We’ll take steps to make sure we never get to that point.”

Thank you for the lesson, papa. Now, can we blow stuff up?

Theo’s first attempt at applying the [Lesser Flame] ward to a bar of [Drogramathi Iron] failed. Even when Alex added her willpower to the problem, it didn’t work. They switched to a bar of regular [Iron] and it worked the first try. The aligned metal just didn’t want to take the effect. They inspected the ward before tossing it at an airship.

[Lesser Flame]

[Advanced Ward]

Creates a reactive field of [Flame]. Field only activates when enemies are detected in range.

Trigger:

Detect Enemy

Duration:

1 day.

Theo loaded the bar of iron into Throk’s imagined contraption. Alex made sure there were enemies on the deck of the airship above. That would activate the trigger on the ward. They dialed the speed back on the launcher, sending the bar soaring at their target with an ear-splitting snap.

Ooooo, Alex said.

As expected, the bar punched a hole through the side of the feathery airship. But the moment the enemy on deck came into range, the bar emitted a field of fire that lashed at the ship. Flames spread across the ship, consuming wood and feathers alike. It floundered in the air for a moment before coming crashing down on the harbor, setting everything ablaze.

“Yeah, that’s effective. Assuming they don’t have magic to counter projectiles.”

Again!

Alex reset the scene, clearing the fire away and adding a fresh airship to the sky. Next up was the [Lesser Force] ward. The description wasn’t worth inspecting as the pair were only interested in the practical application. They loaded another bar with the effect, and sent it up. The effect was less impressive, sending the ship tilting to the side for only a moment. There was still a hole in the side, and the enemies on deck were sent tumbling off.

Not as impressive.

Theo nodded. The next wards to test were best observed on the ground. He understood the effectiveness of launching a heavy bar of iron, but wanted to observe how these wards affected targets up close.

“First up is [Poison]. I think we know what to expect,” Theo said.

Alex conjured a group of five Goblins. They mingled around the streets of Broken Tusk, tightly packed so they could observe the poison. Theo enchanted a bar of iron with the [Lesser Poison] ward before tossing it into the group. A bubble sprung from the iron, coating every creature in range with a sheen of green. They coughed, stumbled around, but didn’t die from the effects.

Not bad. You can make everyone on a ship sick.

Combined with the effect of having a hole punched in an airship, that might have been worth keeping on hand. Alex cleared the board, preparing more Goblins to test the [Lesser Maim] ward. When Theo tossed the bar of iron, most of the Goblins took a knee. Upon closer inspection, those who had been affected had broken limbs.

“Interesting,” Theo said, kneeling near a Goblin to inspect the damage. “Some weren’t affected.”

They resisted the ward. Cool!

Alex cleared the area again, generating fresh Goblins for their testing. Next was the [Lesser Devour] ward, something Theo hadn’t even tested in potion form. The moment he tossed the warded bar of iron into the group, the air swirled with magical power. Once again, some Goblins resisted the effect. The ones who failed whatever invisible check was at play didn’t fare well. Around one creature, glowing blue jaws appeared, taking a literal bite out of the monster.

Both Alex and Theo flinched back when the effect took hold. The Goblins thrashed on the ground, screeching and pawing at lost limbs. The goose cleared the scene away before they could see more of the carnage.

That might be a dangerous one, huh? Alex asked, managing a weak honk.

“Let’s try [Wind Shell] next,” Theo said, eager to clear the image from his mind.

Alex brought the airship back while Theo warded an iron bar with [Lesser Wind Shell]. Once again, the description gave away nothing about the effects. They loaded Throk’s cannon, shot the bar, and observed. The moment the bar impacted the side of the ship, a field of forceful wind sprung up. It whipped the people on deck into the air, sending them flying over the side with force. The airship fared just as bad as those unlucky, imagined people, sending it flying hard to one side.

That was far more effective than [Force], Alex honked.

“Hey! Tresk shouted, appearing next to the pair. “Are you guys having fun without me? Shooting my dad’s gun without me? How dare you!”

“Alright. Let’s show her the good ones, Alex.”

Oh, with pleasure!