The sound of the dwarven smith Thim’s hammer rang out in the early morning. He formed it into a spherical cage of Drogramathi Iron, magically setting glowing hunks of iron into place with his class core. Theo watched nearby. Artisans were always happy to get rush orders because they got paid rush prices. With Tresk’s move last night, most of the alchemist’s golems had been destroyed. The sudden sway of willpower had annihilated their containment cores, ruining the monster cores within.

But it was a good time to reorder his ranks of golems, anyway.

“How’s that?” Thim asked, limping over to produce a still-hot iron cage.

“What happened to your leg?” Theo asked as he inspected the cage. Of course the containment core was perfect. Thim had made more improvements to the design. The more he understood the way Drogramathi Iron worked, the better his skill with the material became.

“Old war wound. Acts up sometimes,” Thim grunted. “How many do you need?”

“Ten, please.” Theo backed away from the hot metal, then withdrew his payment from his inventory. He took a bit more gold out. “Better make it twenty.”

Thim laughed. “Always easy doing business with you, Theo. Say, I have a question…”

Thim wanted to expand his blacksmithing operation. He claimed there was a seed core building that was aligned with Borhig, the Dwarven God of Blacksmiths. Theo was reminded of an elf that had arrived on the Wavecrest. That person had claimed to have experience doing core smithing, but it turned out to be useless to the town. While the elf had served as an assistant to a coresmith, they had never done the job themselves. That meant the only way they could get an aligned seed core building was to find one from a dwarven coresmith.

“And where are we going to find one of them?” Theo asked, leaning against the smithy while Thim worked.

“Well, we just have to get a messenger to the mountainhomes.”

Theo just smiled. Dwarves had always been a mystery. While dwarves were happy to spend their lives with the other races, most of them talked about those mountainhomes. “And where is the nearest mountainhome?”

“Technically, Gronro-Dir. But that tiny town is nothing compared to the others. No, we’ll want to get in touch with the forts near the spine, or those gracing the southern mountains in the Qavelli Region.”

“Which means,” Theo clapped his hands together. “We have to clear the undead corruption.”

“Ah. Yeah.”

“Let me know when my containment cores are done, please. I’m off to be yelled at by my administrators.”

“Hah! Better you than me.”

Theo nodded, leaving the smithy. Of course Alise wanted a meeting with Theo. She had requested that Tresk show up to the meeting too, but the little marshling refused. She had a ‘catch me if you can’ mentality, which the alchemist wasn’t against. He took the long way to the town hall, stopping by a few places before finally arriving. The meeting was already ongoing, and everyone stopped talking when he entered the room. With a shrug, he sat and listened to the state of the realm.

To his surprise, Theo found Alise didn’t mind the late night disturbance. She was more interested in the heavenly implications of the act.

“No one here knows what’s going on in the palaces of the gods,” Alise said with a weak shrug. “And you don’t seem eager to give reports on those matters.”

Theo cleared his throat. “I only bring things up when you guys need to know.”

“Perhaps you should consider that we need to know more than you’re saying,” Gwyn said with a flat look.

“Well, that’s fair…”

Theo had to think for a moment before explaining what was going on in the heavens. He really had little to report. Khahar had brought order to the heavens with an iron fist. It was the only way the Arbiter could get everyone in line, and it was working for now. What the alchemist didn’t know was Khahar’s endgame. He had taken the Throne of the Arbiter, setting it up so that Fenian grabbed the Throne of the Herald right after him. Then he put things in motion to sit both Theo and Tresk on a throne each.

“Why?” Theo asked. “I don’t know. Remaking the universe at the worst and fixing all the weird rules in the system at best.”

“That’s less information than I expected,” Alise said.

Gael drummed his fingers on the table. After a pause, he shrugged. “I see why you’re not sharing much about the heavens.”

“Tero’gal is very insular. The gods come to have tea and eat sweet things. They’re pretty guarded with their information. That’s just how the rules work.”

“Good. Very good. We’ll move on to other matters,” Alise said. She clicked her tongue when Theo went to stand. “This one concerns you, Theo. Ziz’s newest project has failed spectacularly.”

Theo sat down again, raising an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“Building a bridge across the sea is harder than expected. He set one section as a test, and it collapsed when a very minor storm swept through.”

“That’s a setback…”

“Indeed. He’s back to the drawing board on that project for now. I suggest you have a talk with him about it.”

“Will do.”

The meeting went on. These meetings were so boring that it made Theo want to fall asleep at the table. But he had enough respect for what these people were doing to stay awake. These slogs of meetings were necessary to keep the alliance running and were designed to make sure each citizen was getting what they needed. Mercifully, the meeting didn’t go on for too long. The alchemist left, heading over to the smithy to collect some of the wares he had ordered. With containment cores in hand, it was time to create new golems.

Theo assessed his current need for golems. The Small Farm, operating outside of the walls, needed four lesser golems or two of the upgraded version. The mine required exactly none. Those metal golems he had constructed to guard the place had become obsolete thanks to adventurer involvement. The greenhouses behind the Newt and Demon required anywhere between one and two lesser golems, and one upgraded version would take care of the place nicely. Based on his intuition, the alchemist could handle eight to ten, depending on how much will he siphoned from Tero’gal.

“Four golems here, four roaming the necromantic wasteland? Sounds good,” Theo said, nodding to himself. He cracked his knuckles,leaving the spot to gather his supplies.

The first stop was Throk’s workshop. The marshling had been working on more batteries and siphon artifices, stocking the work area with his creations. Theo bought everything he had on hand, along with the excess copper bars. Next stop was the Newt and Demon, where Salire was working the shop on the first floor. The alchemist waved politely, then ascended to the second floor to treat his containment cores and create Hallow Ground constructs. The second floor was always more dreary, never seeming to get enough light without the help of candles. Annoyed with the somber room, he relocated to the third floor.

Several stills on the top floor of the building were bubbling away. Salire had her experiments running in three of the stills, leaving others free for the production of Hallow Ground potions. Theo paused before moving forward, tapping his foot as his thoughts gathered. The hovering platform project wasn’t moving forward as quickly as he would like. Mass production wasn’t working, and he decided the path forward for now was the golems. The single golem he had roaming the area north of Gronro had done excellent work. How about four of them?

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Treating the containment cores was easy enough. Theo selected eight Monster Cores to insert into his creations. There was a creature called a Fald Scryer, which had served as an excellent base for his previous Plant Golem. The scryer’s core was aligned with wisdom, making them excellent herbalists. For his metal golems, destined to be sent to Gronro, he selected Level 20 Goblin Spellflinger cores. One of the rare magic-casting goblins, the Spellflingers were aligned with intelligence. And any creature roaming the corrupted area would need sharp decision-making skills.

After assembling his materials, Theo bumped into Salire on his way out of the lab.

“Oh! Any direction, boss?” she asked, smiling.

Theo tapped his chin, trying to think of something for her to do. Salire was great at self-study, and rarely needed direction. “Could you prepare the materials for another Hallow the Soil run? I think you can make the Suffuse Potion on your own, right?”

“Yeah, I can manage that.”

“I need to go to Gronro to replace my golem, and refresh the ward on the town.”

“Sounds good,” Salire said, moving off. She was already withdrawing materials from the spatial storage crates before he even got to the door.

As Theo left the Newt and Demon, he thought how far she had come. Not by being a champion, like he was, but through sheer determination. He gathered plant material in his greenhouses, picking out the burned-out core of his destroyed golems. The containment cores had been destroyed almost entirely, leaving piles of ash where the golems once were. The alchemist created one Plant Golem for his greenhouses and mushroom caves, inserting the battery and siphon into the seething mass of plant material. After a moment, the creature rose, linking to the lodestone network and awaiting orders. A beat later, and it accessed the already-existing orders in the nearby lodestone network.

Theo turned from the greenhouses, heading directly for his small farm. The golems that had been destroyed there burned some of the wheat. He created two Plant Golems for that small farm, and ensured they drew from the right instructions in the lodestones before moving on. That was the entire point of the farm. The alchemist didn’t want to touch it. He didn’t want to put his hands on a single stalk of wheat, or get his hands dirty in any way. It was absolutely self-run by the golems, and would remain that way forever.

The farm was a small experiment on that front. With enough lodestones and borrowed will from Tero’gal, Theo could run most of the town with golems. The quarry, sawmill, mine, and even the large farm could be operated by golems alone. Perhaps when Salire took the constructs skill, they could expand the golem-run things in town. For now, he would focus half of his capacity on removing the corruption.

“Rowan, Sarisa?” Theo asked.

Sarisa popped out of nowhere, coming to stand beside the alchemist. “Yes?”

“Let’s take a trip,” Theo said, double-checking his inventory. He had the materials to create the Fire Construct required for metal golem construction, and the accompanying metal. “Off to Gronro.”

“Sounds good.”

Sarisa fell in line behind Theo as they headed for the station. The train was half-way between the towns, giving them a moment of respite before heading off.

“How do you like the job, so far?” Theo asked.

Sarisa shrugged. “More boring than I expected. We’re still treating it as though you’ll be ambushed at any moment.”

“Might be better that way,” Theo said, feeling an uncomfortable itch spread across his midsection.

Sarisa sighed. “Wish we could have been there when those Zagmon goons attacked you.”

“To see Fenian fight?” Theo laughed. “That was something else.”

Sarisa paused for a long moment. Theo could feel as though she had something to say, but was holding it back. In true half-ogre form, she couldn’t help herself. “Seems unfair. Powerful people gravitate toward you.”

“Yuri set most of that up. Everyone here knows him as Khahar, but I knew him back before all this. He always had a knack for fixing things, and I guess he sees the system in the same way.”

“You really think our system is broken?” Sarisa asked, somewhat incredulous.

“Yeah. Take a look in the history books. What little there is. Or gaze northward, to where Qavell once was.”

Sarisa grunted, then nodded. “Decent point. How would you fix it?”

Theo had to think about that one. Shouting for change was one thing, but enacting it? There were so many little things at play in this world that it was hard to say how to fix it. “Limit a person’s lifespan to start. Maybe break up the progression of leveling to make it clear how the realms of power work.”

“What’s a realm of power?”

Theo laughed, shaking his head. He explained his observations on the way the system worked. Every 10 levels, there was a jump in power. But that wasn’t even the worst part about the system. “If I could only change one thing, it would be the way Wisdom and Intelligence work. I found a solution for my Wisdom, but… Well, as my Intelligence gets closer to 30, I feel myself slipping away. I’m finding it harder to care about things.”

“You drank a potion, right? Just drink another.”

“You can only drink one soul potion.”

“Bummer.”

The train arrived with merciful timing. Theo and Sarisa boarded, and then they were off to Rivers, then Gronro. Throk still hadn’t sorted out the problem of a windshield for the train. And the alchemist didn’t care for being whipped by a constant drive of hot wind. The temperature got slightly better when the train made its stop in Rivers. A few people got on, headed north. Dropping slightly more, the temperature was far more pleasant up in Gronro. The high altitude wasn’t enjoyable, but disembarking the train was the highlight of the alchemist’s day.

“What are we doing here?” Sarisa asked, standing with Theo outside the stone walls of Gronro-Dir.

“Golems and wards,” Theo said, sucking in some fresh mountain air. “Talking with Grotgrog Stormfist as well, if he has anything to say about it.”

Sure enough, Grot came trotting through the south-facing gate before Theo could even enter the town. The dwarf with his bushy beard bounced on the spot, smiling as he shook the alchemist’s hand.

“Your demon magic is working wonders!” he shouted, slapping Theo on the lower-back. The alchemist’s tail swished defensively, swatting at the dwarf’s hand. “Lively one.”

Theo proceeded forward, and Grot fell in line beside him. “The ward really scoured this place clean, didn’t it?”

“Yep. And your golem cleared the entire mountain pass up. Before it exploded.”

“Sorry about that.”

Gronro-Dir was the most dwarven town Theo had ever visited. Well, he had only visited four towns during his time in this world. While none of the town was built under the mountain, most of the buildings were constructed into the side of the crags on either side. Those buildings standing free were made from the same gray stone that entombed the place.

“I read a report that Qavell is approaching,” Grot said, scoffing. “What kind of horrid human magic are they weaving up there?”

“Nothing good. You’re stocked with my new shots, right?”

“We are. Loaded up in those fancy weapons you sent us. Ready to fire at anything that flies.”

Those were the orders. Anything found in the skies above the alliance’s territory was to be shot down with Theo’s new constructs. The administration had already cleared the action with the other nations they were in contact with. Both Bantein and Partopour had been warned, and a message was sent to the Khahari without response. Anyone violating the airspace only had themselves to blame.

Theo was most eager to tour the northern wall of the town. He ascended the battlements with Grot and Sarisa, looking out over a changed scene. The foul miasma that had once hung in the air had been cleared entirely. The alchemist saw a distinct line in the distance where his golem had been clearing, and the puddle of metal it left behind.

“For the first time, Archduke Spencer, I offer you a tour over the bridge!” Grot shouted, slapping Theo’s back again. “Come on!”

Theo and Sarisa joined him, crossing the bridge. On either side were chasms that seemed to go on forever. The stone bridge they crossed was sturdy, but still held the purified bones of some undead. After crossing the bridge, they stood on the open rocky fields of Murder Passage. Mountains rose on either side. This was a monumental moment for the alchemist. His golem had cleared more area than he could have hoped. He could only wonder what four of them would accomplish.

Withdrawing materials from his inventory, Theo turned to Grot. “I’ll send you a message if the golems get out of the lodestone’s range. The pole with the crystal on the end? You’ll have to move that closer to them if they get too far.”

“I can do that,” Grot nodded.

The first step to constructing metal golems was to pile bars of metal on the ground. Theo placed four equal piles of metal on the ground, then got to work on the containment cores. Once those were inserted, he placed a Fire Construct in each, then stepped back. Each pile burst into flames, the intense fire turning those bars into molten metal. Each formed into the general shape of a humanoid. The alchemist’s shoulders slacked as the intense weight of the creatures drew on his willpower. After a moment, they connected to the lodestone and eased the burden.

Once the golems swapped over to their battery, each stood at attention. Theo repositioned the lodestone, then prepared himself to ward all four golems. While casting the Deflect necromantic Magic ward didn’t cost much mana, it was taxing when applied to things with their own will. Casting it on the town took a lot out of him, but not so much the golems. Silver barrier sprung up around each golem as Theo warded them, chugged Mana Potions, and repeated the process. After checking that each of their siphons and batteries were working, he sent them off to clean the mountain pass.

“Three more than last time,” Grot said, laughing. “They’ll have the continent cleaned in a day!”

Theo wasn’t so sure about that. But the golems would do an even better job cleaning the area than the last ones. These were built with power siphons, which would pull necromantic energy from the air and convert it to mana. While that might corrupt the golems, the ward they brought with them would certainly do a lot to take care of any residual corruption. The alchemist turned away from the mountain pass, smiling at the dwarven duke.

“We’re getting there, Grot. Slowly.”