Theo reached a hand out, helping Ziz remove himself from the deep quarry. The wooden ladder strained under his weight, but held. The half-ogre clapped a hand on the alchemist shoulder and beamed a smile.
“Don’t delay,” Ziz said. “You don’t get that look on your face often enough, Theo.”
“It requires some explanation,” Theo said, gesturing for the man to follow.
“I get it,” Ziz sighed. “Gotta ease into it.”
“One might think that a Level 2 core would be useless for most things,” Theo said, picking a path through the stonecutters’ camp. He angled north, toward the rolling hills that turned into mountains in the distance. “But I found an interesting exploit in the system.”
Ziz rubbed his hands together. “What is it?”
Theo wanted to show Ziz how he could move dirt around, but that wasn’t something he practiced. Instead, he found a massive pile of gravel left by the stonecutters. The alchemist reached out with his Sorcerer’s Core, not even gesturing to wrap his will around it, then invoked his skill. He jerked his head to the side and the entire pile moved as one, hovering over the ground and falling in a heap ten feet to the left.
“Damn, Theo,” Ziz said, laughing. “Level 2? What are you gonna do with that thing at Level 10!?”
“It hardly matters,” Theo said. “I’m exploiting the fact that this core runs on willpower. I could keep it at Level 1 and be just as effective.”
“Well, damn. You want a job?” Ziz asked, chuckling. He gestured to the various hills within his work area. The land was hardly flat. “Could you even out my workspace? We were going to shovel it by hand, but never had the time.”
Theo reached out with his Earth Sorcerer’s Core, probing the area that Ziz had gestured to. It was a mix of stone and earth, which might be a problem. But if the alchemist needed the ability to manipulate the terrain. This had been something he wanted to do since they started doing projects around here. If he could move large amounts of dirt, he could even speed up the river dungeon project.
“Let’s have a try,” Theo said, approaching the rolling hill.
The hill itself was a mound of dirt and stone that sloped at a low angle. Theo imagined that the best way to take care of this back on Earth would have been to use a tractor with one of those big scoop attachments on the front. He never learned what they were called, but had seen them being used before. The alchemist checked his mana before proceeding, popping a Mana Potion and centering his mind.
Theo estimated the hill to be about twenty feet wide. It wasn’t as large as some of the other hills, but the amount of dirt in that five-foot rise was substantial. He imagined that big scoop, spreading his will over the length of the hill. The alchemist gathered his willpower and mana, pressing against the mound of dirt and pushing as gently as he could.
“Wow! Look at that!”
A mostly invisible force drove the dirt forward, flattening the land as it went. The dirt gathered upward, extruded from the hill as Theo worked. After only a foot of pushing, the force of the hill was too great, and the alchemist was forced to rethink his strategy. He wrapped his will around the dirt that had been piled up, and flung it to the side. Repeating the process, he leveled the land and removed the hill. Each time he ran into a boulder, he had to extract it and continue on.
“That wasn’t so hard,” Theo said, wiping sweat from his forehead.
“No kidding! Look at this!” Ziz shouted, stomping on the ground Theo had cleared. “That took you five minutes. We would have been here all day. I have a question about the limits of the core, though.”
Ziz put Theo through a battery of tests. He wanted Theo to remove a cube of dirt from the ground, which was easier than the alchemist expected. He then wanted him to carve a pattern into the ground, which was a bit more complex. The alchemist had to break the pattern down into chunks, imagining each of the parts as individuals.
Theo held a length of ground in the air, just over the section of ground he had extracted it from. He placed it on the ground nearby, allowing the form of the dirt to disperse. Clods of dirt tumbled to the side, some returning to the hole where they just were. The alchemist could tell what Ziz was testing him for. The river project needed some precise cuts in the earth. While the Tunneling Potion might have gotten the job done, this new method was better by a long shot.
“One last thing,” Ziz said, withdrawing a large stone block from his inventory. Thanks to one of his skills, the half-ogre could hold the block in the air for a moment, placing it right where he needed it. “Can you move that?”
The stone was roughly the side of a half-ogre in height, and twice as wide. Theo had the impression that the block was just out of his reach, but he tried anyway. Wrapping his willpower around the stone, he tugged. It moved up slightly, but no amount of mana or will could get it to move. He gave up after a few attempts.
“If this is for the river project,” Theo said, taking a deep breath. “Why would you need my new power?”
“Things might get out of alignment. I can take it back into my inventory, then bring it out… but everything needs to stay in place. If you can hold them in place, we’re golden.”
“Right. I can practice, though. I might be ready by tomorrow.”
“Perfect. We’re gearing up to start the project. Have I explained it to you?”
“No, but I think I know what you’re going to do.”
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“Well, listen to the expert…”
Ziz explained his plan for the river project. Theo was surprised to learn that he had consulted Xol’sa on the project. If the river around the River Dungeon was diverted for too long, the dungeon would become unstable. They needed to create an offshoot from the river upstream, diverting it into the harbor somehow. Once it was diverted, ZIz and his gang had to build a tower around the river dungeon. Which is where things got weird.
“The Ocean Dungeon is fine, right?” Ziz asked. “But we keep that thing dry pretty much all day.”
“So, why isn’t it unstable?”
“I asked our local wizard the same thing. We accidentally tricked the dungeon into thinking it was still in the ocean. So long as the water is close enough, everything is fine. The River Dungeon needs water flowing around it most of the time, meaning its more temperamental. So says the wizard.”
“So the tower needs doors or something. That you can open and close?”
“Exactly. I’m going to build a pretty extensive structure over the river to allow for that. We’ll dam the river after carving a section for it to flow into the harbor. Then we’ll build a bridge and the structure over the River Dungeon. Complete with my fancy watertight doors. Well, mostly watertight.”
“Sounds ambitious.”
“Which is why I need your new fancy power.”
Theo thought about it for a moment before responding. It might take him a few days to get himself ready for the project. “Alright. Give me a few days. I’ll expand my willpower, and we can test to see if I can lift those blocks. Every day.”
Ziz reached out a hand for Theo to shake, which he did. “I look forward to it, Theo.”
The alchemist left the stonecutters’ area, feeling renewed confidence in Ziz’s plan. This one was more thought out than some others he had attempted. And the Earth Sorcerer’s Core would add a lot to the effort. Broken Tusk finally had an earth mage, and Theo couldn’t believe it was him who had stepped up. He always expected a random person to appear, sent to the town by Fenian or Khahar.
Theo made his way back to the lab, finding Salire dealing with a customer. He waved at her before climbing up to the third floor. Before she settled into the shopkeeper part of her role, the woman had started four stills with Hallow Ground essence. That reminded the alchemist to check his interface, finding that the Salire herself had scheduled a delivery of Hallow the Soil potions for later in the week. There was even a note informing the alchemist of his responsibilities.
“Huh,” Theo said, not entirely interested in creating the same potion yet again. Instead, he turned his attention to the handful of deadly flowers in his inventory.
The Night’s End plant barely had enough flowers on it for a batch. While he had placed the entire plant in the controlled Experimental Garden, doing so had brought with it a sense of unease. Theo didn’t need to bring the flowers out of his inventory to know they were deadly. A flower that was more potent than the Widow Lily was frightening. He weighed his options, then headed outside. Just in case. Salire gave him a look as he passed, raising a brow as if to ask what the hell he was doing.
Theo found a field with no one else around. If things went wrong with the deadly flower, he would duck into his personal realm to find a cure. It was a reckless plan, but with the option there he might as well. The alchemist withdrew the flower from his inventory, letting it fall to the ground rather than to touch it. He held his hand out, urging flaming purple mana into his palm before allowing it to drip onto the flower. After focusing on his Reagent Deconstruction skill, the flower burst into purple flames, reducing it down to the primal form of the essence.
The first property on the Night’s End flower was called Venom. Theo wasn’t surprised, but the thought of the property came with deadly weight. The more he thought about it, the less comfortable he was distilling the essence in his lab. The cloud of smoke that the flower released stung his nose, filling his lungs with a burning sensation.
“Make sure not to breathe that in,” Theo said, fanning himself and coughing. He waited to make sure the poison hadn’t taken hold. After a few minutes, he decided he was clear.
Theo entered the Newt and Demon once again, getting another confused look from Salire. He smiled and nodded before heading up to steal a still from the lab. After placing one in his inventory, he took it outside. He set it up out back, near the greenhouses and his working golem. The alchemist got the sense that a still close enough to the building would gain the upgrade benefits, so he was happy enough. He placed what few flowers he had, around ten units, and started the artifice heater.
“I need a safe spot to brew dangerous potions,” Theo said, smoothing back his hair. There was the Experimentation Room upgrade for his building. But that always seemed like a waste. And the description said nothing about preventing deadly fumes. It only prevented damage from deadly explosions. Perhaps a custom building was in order. “Another day.”
Instead of handling the flowers, even through his gloved hands, Theo allowed them to drop straight into the still. He found a stick and crushed them, which took little effort. Flowers were always the easiest to mash. Well, Living River Water just melted, so there was that. With the attached vapor condenser on Throk’s custom still, the alchemist focused on a second tier potion for testing. Tresk would be happy with whatever new poison he produced from the Venom property.
Theo pulled the lid shut, snapping the latch down. He observed the still for a while, judging how much of the fumes from within got out. It wasn’t as bad as he expected, but still enough to be worrying. The vents within the lab might have been good enough to clear the air, but he wasn’t interested in taking chances.
While he waited for the still to do its job, the alchemist practiced with his new core. He didn’t focus on his willpower, instead going through drills to understand the connection between his will and mana. But the still finished with the Refined Venom Essence faster than he expected. The alchemist looked at the vial of seething green essence on the ground, reluctant to approach. He summoned the nearby Plant Golem over, ordering the construct to move the vial into an empty field.
“Thanks,” Theo said, transferring one unit of the essence into an empty vial. He stepped back after pouring it, expecting the essence to react. While it smelled like death, it didn’t react. The alchemist added a unit of Enchanted Water then dropped his catalyst inside. The reaction was immediate and violent.
Theo kept his distance from the plumes of green smoke, moving to either side when it billowed toward him. When the reaction had calmed down, he moved in for inspection. The liquid was a shimmering green with bands of black running through it. The alchemist read the description on his new poison.
[Venom]
[Poison]
Epic
Created by: Theo Spencer
Grade: Excellent Quality
Alignment:
Drogramath (Minor Bond)
Coat your weapon with a deadly venom.
Effect:
Venom floods through any target afflicted by this poison, dealing slight damage over a great period of time.This poison is likely to persist for days at the lowest quality, and years at the highest.
Venom is persistent and difficult to remove. Removal attempts are less likely to succeed.
“That’s just horrific,” Theo said, stoppering the vial and pulling it into his inventory.
That potion might not have been useful for Tresk. Perhaps there was a situation where she encountered a monster that was hard to pin down. Or if she wanted to assassinate a person and ensure the job was done no matter what. The alchemist pushed those thoughts out of his mind and moved on with his day. There were more reagents to test.