Comforting breezes didn’t roll through Broken Tusk during the Season of Fire. Theo had abandoned all hope of being sweat-free outside of the air-conditioned buildings in town. As with all alchemical experimentations, a cracked window was vital. The alchemist stood with Salire, looking over their batch of spirits from the previous day. They had created enough to run the three major restoration potions, but no more.
“Always take it one step at a time.” Theo transferred their newest creation, the [Bound Enchanted Dilution], to holding containers. “When you create too many changes, you’re bound for failure.”
Salire nodded, watching as the alchemist moved the liquid around. He poured it into a clean still, leaning over the edge to inspect it.
[Bound Enchanted Dilution]
[Alchemy Component]
Rare
Alcohol that has been infused and bound with Drogramath’s energy.
Alignment:
Drogramath (Middling Bond)
Property:
[Healing]
“Question,” Salire said, reading over the description of the item. “Your bond has been at ‘middling’ for some time. Why?”
That was a question Theo couldn’t answer. He suspected it had to do with the way Khahar had changed the rules for gods. But that could be wrong. When he met with Drogramath, the Demon Lord seemed intent on forcing Theo to select him as a patron. Assuming that strange god only had his best interest at heart, the alchemist could extrapolate the information.
“Perhaps a temple is needed to go above middling. Maybe Khahar messed up the system. I’m not sure. Prepare the [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root], please.”
Salire nodded, running off to search through their storage crates. She had bought several dresses from the traders from Partopour. Most were in floral patterns, but all of them looked supremely comfortable. “Alignment bonds increase the effectiveness of potions and can be increased by making daily offerings.”
She did that often enough that it wasn’t weird. As a hopeful alchemist, Salire often repeated information so it would stick in her head. Perhaps she could invest more points into Wisdom.
“We’re doing one standard for the [Healing] property. My bet is that the system tags the new essences with ‘bound’ as a property. Refined Bound Healing Essence. Something like that.”
“Wish I had that kind of intuition.” Salire fed gnarled roots into the grinder, adjusting the dial on the side to get a better mash. The machine whirred, crunching the soft root with little effort.
“I’ve been thinking about that.” Theo withdrew his new [Wisdom of the Soul] potion from his inventory, holding it in his hand while Salire worked. “Belgar told me what this potion does. It removes my intuition. Moves all those intrusive thoughts into a system message.”
“Really? Is that useful?”
It was incredibly useful. Immeasurably so. Theo’s intuition often impeded his thought processes. Intelligence was just as bad with that, but Tero’gal had fixed some of that. But the Wisdom attribute was etched too firmly in his mind to be dislodged that way. Even in his personal realm it pecked at his thoughts like a hungry crow, often more a distraction than anything. It made him feel distant. Removed from the real world, sending him spiraling down “what if” scenarios.
“I think so. Belgar agrees.”
“Cause it’s always good to trust the soul of the guy whose body you stole.”
“Fair point.” Theo approached the still, turning knobs on the side to set the temperature. He couldn’t get away with single-temperature runs for much longer. “We’ll set this for about an hour. Maybe less, depending on how hard Zarali’s enchantments work. What’s that sound?”
Like a magpie finding a new treasure, Theo surged for the front window. When he opened it, he saw Sledge’s carpentry crew working on the temple’s roof. The stoneworkers had some trouble getting the foundation of the building together, but not the carpenters. Half the roof was already done and they were slapping boards down like old professionals.
“They’ll be done with that today.” Salire edged closer to Theo, pushing her body against him to peer outside. Like most Half-Ogres in town, she had the strength to toss him around. The pair gazed at the new building for some time, appreciating how it loomed ominously in the distance.
“What do you think I should do with the town, Salire?” Theo asked.
She looked the alchemist in the eyes, face twisting in confusion for a few moments. “What?”
“I own half the businesses in town. More than half, actually. Should one person own so much stuff?”
The pale orange on her cheeks flushed a darker shade when she realized he was asking her such a serious question. He often saw everyone in town as a peer. Not lower or higher than anyone else.
“Uh, well… I don’t know.”
“Good answer.”
“Most businesses you own already have a good payment structure. Based on production, right? You just kinda let me take whatever I want from the store, which is a poor business model.” In classic fashion, Salire got her feet under herself in the conversation in an instant. “You’re afraid of losing the ability to control where your resources go, aren’t you?”
“If I need some stone, I want it when I need it. Same with wood and metal.”
Salire let out a long sigh. She settled in on the windowsill, pushing Theo mostly out of the way. “Hard to say. I’d change the way you’re doing it if I was in charge.”
“How?”
“This is a problem of ownership. Take your deal with Dead Dog Mine. They split up ten percent of the value of every nugget mined. But they don’t own their ability to make money. You do.”
“What’s the alternative?”
“Well, I wouldn’t give the mine to Gridgen. I’d give the mine to the workers. Change the ownership of the mine to Broken Tusk, then strike a new floating contract. Anyone who wants to work the mine can work it. They can organize themselves however they like.”
“That only works because we know the people of Broken Tusk are good.”
“Yeah, so what’s the problem?” Salire cast him a penetrating look.
Theo had been feeling more like an oligarch by the day. Like a dictator who wanted to hold on to everything within the town. No one had brought it up so far. Well, Tresk had. But she liked to poke fun at him, so that didn’t count. Exports were going to be a massive money-maker in the town. Once more traders showed up, it would be a flood of coins. That’s when he had to think about changing the structure. When their coffers were so full they couldn’t spend it, the citizens should get the excess.
“There’s a lot to think about.”
Theo and Salire continued to chat. He practiced his magic and bone carvings while they waited for the essence to run, remembering the words of Xol’sa. If he remembered to keep a steady pace of practice, he could have his [Toru’aun Mage’s Core] up to 10 within a week. That would unlock access to a new skill.
Once the first flask was filled with pale pink liquid, Theo took it to the side for inspection. He’d wanted to wait for the run to complete at first, but Sledge’s distraction proved only temporary.
“Huh,” Theo grunted, inspecting the essence. “That’s weird.”
[Refined Bound Healing Essence]
[Essence] [Refined Essence] [Bound Essence]
Uncommon
Created by: Theo Spencer
Grade: Poor Quality
Purity: 75%
200 units (liquid)
Concentrated, refined, bound essence of healing. Used to create healing potions.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Hah! Why is that weird? You called the name.”
“Look who created it.”
“Oh. Why does that feel ominous?”
Theo searched his intuition for something, but was left with no answers. This had something to do with Belgar aligning himself to Tero’gal. The system must have registered that the dead Dronon had a new life, even if it was just in the heavenly realms.
“Pile it on the curiosities of the day. So, how should we brew this?”
Salire stood ram-rod straight, her eyes going wide. She was often confident, but could be caught off-guard like this. Stammering, she withdrew a notebook to consult. Theo snatched it, holding it behind his back. She groaned.
“I know how to make the low-tier potions. But I’m worried about the higher ones.”
“Exactly. What would we normally do?”
Salire explained the process step-by-step. Theo agreed with her on the worries she laid out. Their standard catalyst might not work for this reaction. What he wouldn’t tell her was that he was confident using enchanted [Drogramathi Iron Shavings]. There were other catalysts within the lab she could pick that would work. They were things the alchemist never touched, since he had access to the rare iron. Both [Grave Dust] and [Ice Quartz] might work to stabilize the reaction. But [Iron Shavings], [Flaky Agate], and [Copper Shavings] would not work.
“Are [Drogramathi Iron Shavings] third or second tier?” Salire asked.
Theo’s mind shifted away from the lab. A lance of momentary pain drove through his mind and he was distracted. After a few confusing moments, he cast his mind over the lodestone network, finding that one of his [Lesser Plant Golems] in the fields outside of Broken Tusk had been slain. He held up a hand for Salire to wait, consulting the network. Other golems were moving in to investigate, but then the warning bell rang outside.
“Just a moment.”
After a few confusing minutes of lining up golem reports with information in the administration screen, Theo determined the problem. “There was a small monster attack on my little farm. Looks like the adventurers sorted it.”
“Oh. Alright. So, the iron?”
“It should work. What’s the only way we can know?”
“Experimentation?”
“Exactly.”
Theo was out of enchanted [Drogramathi Iron Shavings], forcing him to create a new pile in his lab. The process was simple enough, but he was left with the next step of potion-making. He quizzed Salire on the right way to experiment, but she got the answer without effort. The alchemist assumed he needed to use the same water he used to create the essence to brew the potion.
“Always do a small reaction first,” Theo said, setting up a flat-bottomed vial. He dropped the [Drogramathi Iron Shavings] in the bottom, then added the water and the essence. As the reaction kicked off as a flurry of bubbles and steam, he felt the power of the lab flex around him. It contained the violent reaction, making it little more than a display of frothing potion. When the reaction was complete, they were left with their first third tier potion.
“Wow. This is the least impressive vial I’ve ever seen,” Salire said, inspecting the potion.
Theo grunted. “This is practical. No need for a fancy vial.”
“Really? Do you really think so? Have you inspected the potion?”
He inspected the new potion.
[Greater Healing Potion]
[Potion]
Rare
Created by: Theo Spencer
Grade: Good Quality
Alignment:
Drogramath (Middling Bond)
A healing potion. Drink to restore health.
Effect:
Instantly restores 175 health points.
“There’s that name again.” Theo never expected to be concerned about seeing his name on potions. “You’re right. The bottle isn’t good enough. Let’s design a new one.”
The problem with creating a new vial was that Theo liked the old one. It was simple. Easy for a person to withdraw and drink. But the pair went into a design phase for the new vial. Salire sketched ideas out in her journal while they set the other stills to brew stamina and mana potions. The alchemist rejected any idea with extra stuff on the side. She eventually sketched something that would work.
The regular vials were cylinders. Nothing more. Flat on the bottom with rounded edges and an open top. The only fancy thing about them was the glass stopper on the top. Thanks to the [Glassware Artifice], producing fancy vials was a simple matter. Theo approached the machine, which had already been loaded with motes, and imagined the vial. Instead of a round bottom, it would be a triangle. Each point would swoop up toward the stop, creating a fancy angle that was still easy to hold. It wouldn’t be too narrow at the top, but would still taper off to create a pleasing angle.
The stopper is where Salire went nuts. She sketched a cartoonish version of Theo and Tresk’s face to be embedded on two sides of the three-sided stopper. On the last side, she sketched out a fancy version of the shop’s name. Abbreviated, of course. The machine whirred to life, spitting out a single vial at the alchemist’s command. He smiled as he looked upon the little ‘N&D’ embossed on the stopper.
“Alright. I like this,” Theo said, placing his hand on Salire’s shoulder. “It costs the same amount of motes. Just leave the sketches by the machine so we have a unified design.”
“Not that you need it.” Salire ran her fingers over the new vial. “With your memory and all that.”
They got back to work. Salire couldn’t do most of the brewing process, and she stared out the window a lot. Theo understood it was because she thought the temple would instantly give her access to an alchemy core. That might have been right, but he wanted her to temper her expectations. But once the essences were done brewing, they had something else to look at. The alchemist kicked off the reactions for the mana and stamina potions and set them both down for inspection.
“In your fancy vial, of course,” Theo said, pushing the [Greater Mana Potion] across the table for Salire to inspect.
[Greater Mana Potion]
[Potion]
Rare
Created by: Theo Spencer
Grade: Good Quality
Alignment:
Drogramath (Middling Bond)
A lesser mana potion. Drink to restore mana.
Effect:
Instantly restores 150 mana.
“I’m certain no one makes these.” She stared at the potion, running her fingers along the ornate vial.
“Don’t count on it. The Elves have a monopoly on cool stuff. Check out the other one.”
[Greater Stamina Potion]
[Potion]
Rare
Created by: Theo Spencer
Grade: Good Quality
Alignment:
Drogramath (Middling Bond)
A stamina potion. Drink to restore stamina.
Effect:
Instantly restores 115 stamina points.
There were parts of the process that needed improvement. The quality could be improved, which would squeeze a few more points out of all the potions. Then there was the combination of modifiers, which would really set the potions off. But today’s experimentations were over. A knock came at the door shortly after they had finished with the work. Zarali stepped in with a big smile on her face.
“I can feel him calling, Theo. Time to bless the temple.”
Theo poked his head out of the window. There was a mostly completed roof sitting atop the building. Even with the fading light of the day, everyone seemed eager to get the temple up and running. While it seemed like something that could wait for tomorrow, the alchemist agreed to attend the ceremony. His actual motive was to help Sledge use her [Fabricator’s Core]. She needed all the coaching she could get.
As with most things in town, the temple drew eyes. And crowds. Theo had to wade through the gathered throng, pushing his way to the front steps. It was imposing to look up at the massive building. Larger than every other building in town, and spanning to a height that would rival Xol’sa’s tower, Ziz’s people had created something special. Made of white stone and straight angles, they had captured the sinister vibe more than anything else.
The building was constructed with one concept in mind. Simplicity of design. At the front of the building, where the steps and entryway were located, there were two identical towers. The roof was peaked in the center, made of sturdy Ogre Cypress and stained a deep shade of blue. The rear of the building held a rounded section with open windows. Theo ascended the stairs to be the first to enter the mostly completed temple. Aside from the workers, of course.
It was entirely bare in the interior aside from a Marshling sitting cross-legged in the center. Open windows lined either side of the massive walls. Spiraling staircases sat in the turrets, allowing access to those high places in the temple. Theo approached Sledge, coming to sit down next to her. Zarali and Xol’sa were close behind.
“Got it?” Theo asked.
“Just about,” Sledge grunted, teeth gritted in concentration. “Just a few more minutes.”
Roots of unaligned magical energy slapped harmlessly against the temple’s walls. The sound of the magic played like chimes across the empty walls, echoing endlessly. Theo felt a deep connection with this place. It was reaching out, desperate to grasp onto something. Almost as though the building itself was begging for a patron. To fulfill its purpose.
The sun had dipped low by the time Sledge got a handle on her abilities. She needed an unending supply of [Mana Potions] to keep her going. Every lash of her root-like magic brought the temple closer to heel. Her eyes snapped open and she drew a quick breath.
“There!” Sledge shouted.
The roots latched on, grabbing the massive building and holding firm. Voices of surprise came from outside the building, then the scattering of feet over cobblestones. A sheen of magic rolled over the stones, sending the bright marble glowing even brighter. Once the lights settled down, Theo forced his will into the building for inspection.
[Temple]
Owner: [Broken Tusk]
Faction: [Southlands Alliance]
Level: 1(0%)
Rent Due: 7 Days
Expansions:
None
“My turn,” Zarali said, slamming the end of her staff down onto the stone floor. A wave of Drogramathi mana flowed from within her, washing over everything like a cleansing flame. She chanted a tale of blessings in the Drogramathi tongue This went on until the sun was below the horizon. One last wave of purifying mana later, and her eyes snapped open. “Done. It told me the owner of the town will see patron selections.”
A screen sprung up for Theo to view.
[Temple] has been blessed!
Please select three from the following realm-holders to be your town’s patrons.
Drogramath (Grodul’harak)
Glantheir (The Realm of Healing)
The Arbiter (Khahak)
Parantheir (Duelist’s Refuge)
…
…
…
The list was longer than Theo expected. He scrolled through the entire thing, the crowd around him waiting for his selection. As he neared the bottom of the list, his heart skipped a beat. His eyes went wide as he viewed the last selection on the list.
…
…
…
The Dreamwalker’s Tara’hek (Tero’gal)