Theo took several steadying breaths, all while Fenian babbled about being trapped in the realm of a necromancer god. The good news was that he had indeed killed Karasan, resurrected Balkor, and survived. But only just.

“I’m just happy more time hasn’t passed. Balkor has been lording over me as though he did me a great favor,” Fenian’s voice echoed through Theo’s mind. He held the crystal tightly in his hand, unsure of what to do. “The potion you sent me saved my life, but I’m afraid it wasn’t enough to escape.”

“Good to hear,” Theo said, nodding. It was hard to contain his excitement. But sending the potion had come at a cost. They had to find another way to send stuff to the elven trader, as Uz’Xulven’s actions had closed that bridge. Perhaps it was as easy as… “Just take the Bridge. Leave.”

“Leaving requires permission. Well, I have a plan for that. Listen closely…”

Fenian’s plan was horrible. Theo shook his head the entire time the elf described his hair-brained scheme to escape Balkor’s clutches. The alchemist was certain the plan wouldn’t work. The first step was to deliver a few items to Balkor’s realm, which the demon god surely wouldn’t allow. Then the wayward trader wanted to die and be reborn on the mortal plane. The various gods gathered in Tero’gal seemed to have no opinion.

“Just give me more information,” Theo said, trying not to let the frustration he felt bleed into his thoughts. “I’ll come up with something. So long as we can use these stones to talk, we can work it out.”

“I have faith in you, Theo. But consider my plan. Balkor isn’t the best company, and I’m bored out of my mind. A man can only be on the verge of death for so long until he’s bored to death!”

Fenian cut the connection through the crystal after relaying everything he knew. Theo was left in his realm, feeling more confused than helpless. He couldn’t believe that the elf didn’t have an exit strategy. If his plan boiled down to entering Balkor’s domain, killing Karasan then hoping for the best, it was an ill-conceived plan.

“Why is it my job to save Fenian?” Theo asked, turning to the gods standing near him. “You guys are way more powerful than me. This doesn’t make sense.”

“Rules,” Khahar said. “A stable world requires rules. If we break those rules, what’s the point?”

“Instead, we’re going to bend the rules.” Theo massaged the bridge of his nose, pinching his eyes shut. “Fine. Guess I’ll add this to my list of projects.”

Both Khahar and Drogramath seemed as though they wanted to tell him how to do it. But they couldn’t. Instead, Theo went off in his mind to think of a way to break Fenian out. Even with Tresk’s considerable willpower, it wasn’t possible to interdict him. The owner of a realm, especially one so old and powerful, wouldn’t allow it. Perhaps they could bend the rules a little, sending an item into the realm. That came with its own problems, but was the first thing the alchemist thought of that he didn’t shoot down immediately.

“I’m not gonna solve this in a day,” Theo said, stretching. “I’m headed back to the mortal realm. Pretty sure I can do better testing there.”

Once again, the pair of gods looked eager to speak. But after a long pause, Theo determined they wouldn’t. He fell through the realms, landing back where he had left. He felt Tresk’s mind consuming the information he had learned, sapping away his knowledge and forming her own opinions. But there were important things to attend to. The alchemist made his way back to the manor, intent on eating and taking a nice long bath. Sarisa and Rowan had already started making dinner, and he sat alone at the overly-long table waiting for his companions.

Tresk appeared from the shadows, plopping into her chair and slumping. “If that knife-eared bastard got himself stuck, why do we have to pull him out?”

“Cause no one else will.”

Honk!

Theo went to the front door, letting Alex in. She honked in appreciation, then found a spot on the floor to rest.

“I have a few ideas,” Tresk said. “We need outside help for all of them.”

Theo was never as good as Tresk at reading the minds of the Tara’hek. He still got vague impressions of what she was feeling and had never learned how to skim her mind. It was a trait unique to her. “We’ll go over your ideas in the Dreamwalk.”

The group ate their dinner, then spent time in their private bath at Xam’s bathhouse. Tresk was good about not bringing up her ideas, but Theo could feel them brewing in her mind. They entered the Dreamwalk as soon as possible, the sun barely dipping below the horizon when they delved. The alchemist shifted the scene when they arrived, recreating Balkor’s realm as described by Fenian.

Hoi’ch was a realm of undeath. Everything lingered between a state of living and death, and appeared as a mockery of the real world. Rolling fields of bones and twisted trees dotted the landscape. The air was filled with a foul scent and an oppressive green aura clouded everything.

“I don’t like this place,” Theo said, shaking his head. “Fenian has been trapped for a few hundred years. I think his bravado was false.”

“Yeah. Screw this place,” Tresk said. “Alright. First plan.”

Tresk imagined a version of Fenian laying prone on the ground. Theo didn’t remember him looking like such a damsel in distress, but he dismissed the thought. The marshling showed her plan to sneak into Balkor’s realm somehow, steal away the damsel on the back of a dragon, and return to the mortal realm. She explained none of the steps, including how she would get there or how she would convince Pogo to take part.

“Okay… My turn?” Theo asked.

“Uh. Sure.”

Theo didn’t have a plan. He explained Fenian’s plan instead. “He’s convinced he can reincarnate on the mortal plane. This plan will not work, but he wants us to rip his [Elven Trader’s Core] from his chest, then bring it back to the mortal world.”

“Yeah, not gonna happen. That requires us to go there. And we can’t go there.”

“Right? That’s what I said. But that got me thinking.”

“I can feel something brewing in your brain, buddy,” Tresk said, rubbing her hands together. “Let me hear it.”

Theo imagined a [Imbue Phylactery] potion. The purple-green thing swirled in the flask, emitting an aura stronger than the imagined realm itself. He and Tresk examined it.

[Imbue Phylactery]

[Potion]

Legendary

Created by: Theo Spencer

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.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“We’re gonna turn Fenian into a lich?” Tresk asked.

“According to the description, this removes someone’s soul from their body. I’m not confident we can get ourselves into Balkor’s realm, but an item? Yeah, I think we can do that.”

“Fenian gets the bottle and a rock to stow his soul, then we get the rock back here. Then he… dies?”

“Research is required,” Theo said, nodding.

But that was the basic plan. Theo had thought the phylactery potion was useless, borderline dangerous when he first discovered it. Now they faced a tough decision filled with assumptions. Fenian had to accept the plan to start. Then they had to find a way to return the object he placed his soul into back to the mortal realm. Finally they would need to resurrect their friend.

“That’s a fitting outcome, huh?” Tresk asked. “He used the undead to get what he wanted, now he has to become one.”

“We should run the plan past the gods before we do it, though. They’ll tell me the right answer if I’ve already discovered it.”

Tresk and Theo went back and forth on the matter. They argued about the logistics of this plan, and the need for another. The problem was that Fenian entered Balkor’s realm when he was dormant, allowing him to pass without question. Now that the god was awakened, he would never let him leave. Not unless they did something drastic. The marshling was convinced that even this wouldn’t work, and planned to pursue other avenues.

Theo was certain that Xol’sa would have some valuable information about the heist. The extra-planar elf hadn’t traveled through the void since he came to the mortal plane, but he had an innate sense for it. That was the alchemist’s first stop after the Dreamwalk ended. For now, he let those worrying thoughts fall away to focus on leveling his cores. He spent his time brewing potions, constructing golems, and tending sprawling gardens. Of course, the pair shifted the scene before they got to training. Neither cared for the rotting smell within Balkor’s realm.

When morning finally came, Theo withdrew from the Dreamwalk feeling fresh. While there was a lot of work to do outside of his newest project, he wanted to visit Xol’sa’s tower first. After checking in with Salire, of course. The half-ogre woman had been doing well enough on her own, but there was still a lot of stuff she couldn’t make. She also couldn’t touch the advanced essences without blowing them up, complicating matters. The alchemist helped her in the first few hours of the morning, setting everything up to brew on its own. Their stock of Hallow the Soil potions wasn’t thinning, but the defenses he had placed in Gronro needed attention.

“Another thing to tend,” Theo said, clapping a hand on Salire’s shoulder. “I’m off to see a wizard.”

The citizens in the town were in a good mood today. Those that Theo passed by on his way to the portal waved excitedly, or offered hearty greetings. He stepped through the shimmering portal, finding himself on the first floor of the tower in an instant. As expected, Xol’sa was musing about the dungeons on the roof.

“Come! Look at this!” Xol’sa shouted the moment he spotted Theo. The elf waved him over, far too excited for the early hour of the day.

Theo had trouble understanding what the floating cloud of sigils said. He stared at it for a while, hoping that Xol’sa would tell him what it was. The alchemist cleared his throat. “What am I looking at?”

“Your new upgrade allowed me to create automations. I can move power around through our local dungeons, making sure none are growing too fast. When one dungeon gets too high, this procedure will send power to another.”

“That’s actually cool,” Theo said, leaning closer to get a better look. He still couldn’t make sense of the sigils, though. “How complex can you make those commands?”

“At my skill level, they’re fairly basic. I assume that will change with time. The worrying part of it all is the level of power has been fluctuating. We gained an increase in power yesterday. Slight, but noticeable.”

Theo nodded. “A few souls joined my realm yesterday.”

“Yep. That’ll do it. Let’s remember that. The more your realm grows in strength, the stronger our dungeons get.”

It was a concept that had scared Theo from the start. The only thing they could do was to be proactive, making sure everything was managed by the day. The alchemist cleared his throat, his thoughts about the dungeons falling away. “I had a question.”

“Oh, right!” Xol’sa said, clapping his hands and turning to meet Theo’s gaze. “What’s going on?”

Theo explained his plan to send an item into Balkor’s realm, then bring it back. Xol’sa didn’t need to know what item he was sending in there, though. The elf nodded along politely, then swiped his hand through the air to clear the cluster of sigils. He began drawing a diagram with his finger. It represented the realms as orbs floating in the void, each with their own bubble protecting them from intrusion.

“You can’t force yourself through this barrier, right?” Xol’sa said, gesturing to the bubbles.

“That’s right.”

“You lack the authority. But what is authority? Ownership rights established by the system. Just like you can’t access my inventory, you can’t force yourself into Balkor’s realm.”

“I’m following you.”

“Good. What happens if we try sending something owned by Balkor back to him?” Xol’sa asked, his brows raising.

That was a damn good idea. Balkor was the only god to ever break into the mortal realm, so far as anyone knew. Pieces of his heavenly body were still around, spreading corruption wherever they went. If they found a piece of bone and shoved it through the bubble, as Xol’sa had represented, it might work. They might even piggy-back a potion on that.

“How about returning the bone to the mortal realm?” Theo asked.

“Easy enough. I can tag it with a marker, returning the item. That should work even across the realms.”

Theo felt excitement welling in his chest. But he paused, tilting his head to the side as he observed Xol’sa. “You’re happier than normal.”

“Oh! Wondrous!” Xol’sa said, clapping again. “I’m glad you noticed. I have quaffed your potion, reducing the effects of my above-average intelligence.”

“We should investigate a way to take more than one of those potions. I’m not looking forward to how more Intelligence makes me feel.”

“A great idea. For now, I can only thank you.”

Theo shrugged. “It’s the least I can do for the town’s wizard.”

“Oh, how splendid,” Xol’sa said, smiling. “Want to learn more about my dungeon project?”

“Not really. I have some ammunition to make.”

“Of course. Off you go!”

Theo left the tower feeling more confident about Fenian’s problem than before. Even if the whole lich thing was a no-go, there was a chance they could use the item-teleporting strategy to their advantage. As always, he prepared himself to switch between strategies when appropriate. It had worked well before and he knew it would work well now. The alchemist departed from the tower, taking the portal back to the town’s square.

“Theo,” a familiar, grumbling voice called from behind.

Theo turned, spotting Sulvan approaching. The man had embraced the lifestyle of Glantheir, assuming a humble posture and the clothes of their order. The god of healing preferred colors of white, blue, and gold. Sulvan wore simple robes of blue and white, with a dangling golden chain displaying the image of his patron.

“How is it going?”

“Well enough. I’ve had trouble adjusting,” Sulvan admitted, his eyes locked on the ground. “Like my mind has been torn apart and remade. As though I’ve been transported back in time and left to reconcile who I had become.”

“One step at a time.”

“Indeed. Glantheir’s blessings are endless. I’m leveling his core, but progress is slower than I would have liked. I wanted to help with the undead.”

“Just take your time. You’ll get there.”

Sulvan nodded. It was odd to see him so small. When Theo had first met the inquisitor of the Burning Eye, he was an imposing figure. But even back then, the man was fair. So long as the alchemist wasn’t breaking those stupid rules, everything was fine. Uharis was the real problem within the Cult of the Eye. Now the jerk was stuck on the moon.

“I appreciate the kind words and the warm bed. I hope I can live up to your expectations,” Sulvan said, bowing at the waist. He departed shortly after, his eyes locked on a horizon Theo couldn’t see.

Theo messed around town for a while. There was nothing for him to do until the latest batch of Hallow the Soil essence was brewed. Once his intuition told him it was ready, he headed back to the lab to check it out. Salire was busy with a customer, leaving him to check the stills and sort out the resulting essence. After all the essence was in the building’s storage, he got to work cleaning each still and setting up the resulting essence to make Hallow the Soil potions.

Salire joined him in time, setting everything up to brew. They would take a while to turn into the true potions, so they were placed into barrels and set aside. Theo considered the stock in his lab, and remembered the serious lack of River Clam Pearls. It was the one reagent he didn’t have easy access to, but was required to make the Anti-Magical Infusion Constructs.

“Feel free to use the stills,” Theo said, slapping the side of a Drogramathi Iron Still. “I need to talk to Tresk’s brother about harvesting clams.”

Salire laughed, watching as the alchemist departed from the lab. He headed off to the harbor and was unsurprised to see the Cork not docked. The fishermen were already out in the bay, harvesting the bounty of the sea. Theo waited for a while, not willing to do much else than watch the boats as they came and went. Thronk brought his boat into port, eventually.

It wasn’t hard to convince the industrious fisherman to turn his attention to the river. A few gold coins and promises of more had the little marshling eager to scour the river for pearls. Theo made sure he knew that the only thing he needed were the pearls, not the clams themselves. Instead of waiting for a more opportune time to start his new venture, Thronk unloaded the fish he and his workers had caught and went straight for the river.

“Works for me,” Theo said, smiling to himself.

Excitement bubbled in his chest for the new shots for their weapons. If everything went right, they could stockpile the Drogramathi Iron Shots, rather than relying on his wards. When Qavell finally arrived, they would be ready to shoot it down.