A pulse of light burst from Sulvan, sending both Jan and Twist tumbling back. Theo placed a boot on Jan’s chest while both Sarisa and Rowan restrained Twist. Golems patrolling the town lumbered over, taking the powerful elf and holding him there. The alchemist looked between both parties, watching their future movements with interest. How the hell did they know each-other?

“Let’s hear some explanations,” Theo said. “You first, Twist.”

“I’ve never seen this man in my life,” he said, pushing against the golems to no effect.

“Yes, you have,” Jan struggled under Theo’s boot. But someone with classes didn’t stand a chance. It was like a toddler fighting against an adult. He could only do so much.

“Silence him,” Theo said, jerking his head to Twist as he drew more golems in. One stood between Twist and Jan, ready to flail their metal limbs if things got out of control. Sarisa drove her fist into Twist’s gut. The alchemist winced. “That was a bit much.”

“Agreed,” Twist said, coughing into his mask.

Sarisa shrugged.

“How do you know him, Jan.” Theo looked down, expecting the worst.

“A masked man,” Jan nodded, jabbing a finger at Twist. “One eye, pale skin, twin blades. He was on Earth. When he tried to kill Fate, Omen was the only one who could stop him.”

Theo turned, feeling someone without hearing them land. Fenian stood there, dusting his ruffled shoulder pads. “What? I sensed I was needed. I have a sense for naughty boys.”

“Time to talk, Twist,” Theo said.

A long silence set in between all parties. Twist eventually gave a shrug and released a steady breath. “Is this the part where I reveal my nefarious plan? I have none. I’m only surviving.” His masked face flicked between those gathered. Almost as though he was calculating something. “Remember the help I’ve lent you, Theo. We are not enemies. But the way is clear. When the time comes, you’ll need me.”

Theo saw Twist move, projected in the afterimage of his high Wisdom attribute. He made one motion and was gone, leaving nothing but a confused golem behind. The alchemist’s aura flung outward, searching the area for Twist’s signature. But there was nothing. A round stone fell to the ground where the masked elf once was. It clattered to the ground, breaking the silence between the group.

“Ah, that’s interesting,” Fenian said, tilting his head. “Location-swapping magic.”

Theo’s eyes shot to Jan. He removed his boot and held a hand out for him to take, which he did. After hoisting him up and dusting him off, the alchemist handed the knife over. “You’ll need a better knife.”

“Hello, can someone explain what just happened?” Sarisa asked, waving her hand through the air. “For those of us who are completely lost.”

“I saw him. Back on Earth. I swear I did.” Jan looked at the place where Twist once was. “A pale, masked elf with two weapons. Called himself Twist. He attacked my team, but was beaten back by another kid.”

“How is that possible?” Theo asked, looking at Fenian.

“Don’t look at me. I’m not from your world. You released this one, so why not a few more?” Fenian asked.

“Location-swapping magic. Do you think he’s making a run for Qavell?” Theo asked.

“We’re in Qavell,” Fenian reminded him.

“No, he was talking about the place where Qavell was.”

“There’s nothing there, Theo. Just a crater in the ground and a lot of undead.”

“I don’t like this, Theo.” Sulvan folded his arms.

“Jan, what happened to Twist on Earth?” Theo asked.

“He vanished after fighting the kids. Omen took care of him, sending him somewhere. I really don’t know. The others were ahead of me by a longshot.”

Theo thought back to everything he knew about when Jan vanished from Earth. He had mentioned something that stuck out. “The eye. Did you see that eye when Twist vanished.”

Jan narrowed his eyes at the alchemist. “You think they’re connected?”

The last thing Theo wanted was another loose end. But he thought about Twist’s words. The elf had only been helpful, maintaining his status as a mysterious figure. He could kick himself for now grilling him about his past, or why he wanted to help Broken Tusk so much. Unlike Fenian and Khahar, Twist had performed his subterfuge perfectly. He acted as though he needed something from the alchemist, but that was likely far from the truth. His true intentions could have been anything.

“You’re no longer Sulvan’s problem,” Theo said, jerking his head toward the city’s exit. “Mind walking with me, Fenian?”

“Certainly.”

“Thanks for your hard work, Sulvan. I’ll take him from here.”

“Just make sure he slots that Glantheir core!” Sulvan shouted after him. “He has the potential to be one of the faithful!”

After they were clear, Theo had Jan walk back with Sarisa and Rowan. He extended his shadow bubble, encasing him and Fenian in a field of silence. “What’s your take on this?”

“Did Earth have elves?” Fenian asked.

“Nope.”

“Your newest member is leaving information out.” Fenian said it as though it was fact. He might have been right.

“Is he from some alternate Earth?”

“I’ve consulted with the foremost expert on duplicate worlds.” Fenian folded his arms in front of his chest, nodding with pride. “That’s not possible. The worlds of the multiverse are forged. They wouldn’t make duplicates.”

“So the Earth Jan is from is my Earth, right? But we never had magic or elves. Yet Jan said there was magic. What is the one unknown factor?” Theo asked. He already had an answer. “The eye.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Ah, right. The eye. Oh, perhaps I should make a confession. Are you prepared? Put on your big boy pants, Theo.”

“I’ve got my big boy pants on.”

“I have spoken with one of those world forgers. They steered me to my current course.”

“Good thing I’m wearing these pants.” Theo tried not to roll his eyes, but it was hard. Nothing Fenian could say would surprise him at this point. “I’m guessing the being didn’t give anything away.”

“Of course it didn’t.”

Theo had a lot to think about, but he dropped his bubble and took the core from Jan. It was a common-rank Glantheir’s Soldier Core. Instead of being showered with an amazing class, the god had given Jan something simple to start. That was fine. This guy was lost in a new world, and had been dropped in the middle of some intense conflicts. But he would find his place with the adventurers. Theo was certain of that.

“Got a new recruit for you,” Theo said after opening the door to Aarok’s office.

“Oh, please. Come in.” Aarok glared at Theo from behind his desk. “I wasn’t in the middle of anything.”

“Good. Could you get Jan on an adventuring team. Also sound the alarm, Twist isn’t who he says he was.”

Aarok blinked slowly, mouth hanging open. “You’re the worst,” he grumbled, whistling. An adventurer came in behind them moments later. “Are we killing him, or what?”

“Just capture him. I don’t think he means the alliance harm, but he has some questions to answer.”

Theo worked out some details for Jan’s position in the Adventurer’s Guild. He thought he knew what the man needed. It wasn’t structure, but the freedom to pick his own path. Aarok was agreeable to those terms, inducting the Earthling into the guild with no fanfare. Someone like Jan needed to get out there and see what his new world was about. If he wanted to get himself killed in the swamp, or make a run for it… fine. Keeping him in a cage wouldn’t work.

Old dudes didn’t learn lessons the easy way.

“Does anyone care what I think?” Jan asked.

“No.” Theo and Aarok said the word at the same time. Jan nodded, casting his eyes to the ground.

As Theo left the guild, Jan’s shift in behavior didn’t evade his notice. Fenian trotted along behind him, humming a tune out of key. “Twist means more to Jan than he’s letting on. Some serious stuff went down back on Earth.”

“What a delightful mystery,” Fenian said, clapping along as he continued his song. “I’m going to Tarantham. Need anything?”

“Town Seed Cores if you can find them. A coin mint… what else…”

“Booze?”

“Yeah, booze. Sounds good Fenian,” Theo clapped a hand on the elf’s back, making his way to the Newt and Demon.

A half-ogre man Theo had seen around town a few times stood behind the counter. He looked around, waving sheepishly. “Uh, hey. Just watching the shop.”

Theo nodded to him, ascending to the second floor. Salire spent most of her time on the third or first floor. Today she was cloistered on the second floor, scribbling away next to her artifice printer. She looked up, her brows raising. “Oh! You’re back sooner than I thought. Any progress?”

“I was working on some other things,” Theo said, waving the thought away. “Hardly had time to think about it, but I have basically two ideas. The first is that we don’t have enough information to fix this problem.”

“And the second? Does it have to do with those epic-plus potions we made?” Salire asked.

Theo nodded, leaning over the worktable. “If you think about it, higher rarity reagents have less impurities. The properties are more potent.”

“There’s only one way to find out. We gotta trudge through the swamp.”

If only there was a way to cultivate those reagents in his greenhouses. Theo was almost convinced that those reagents couldn’t be grown in a greenhouse. But he wouldn’t give up until he tried. He shot ideas back-and-forth with Salire, settling on the idea that even if they couldn’t add these reagents to their greenhouse, they needed to try collecting higher-quality ingredients to discover the method for fourth tier reagents.

“For science,” Theo said, thumping his hand on the table.

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

Theo and Salire departed from the Newt and Demon, pausing near the southern gate. Rowan and Sarisa stood outside with their arms crossed.

“Let’s get one thing straight. You’re not abandoning us in the swamp this time. Okay?” Salire asked.

“We’ll drown you,” Rowan clarified. “In the swamp. We’ll hold you down until the bubbles stop.”

“Message received,” Theo said, nodding.

“Swear it.”

“I swear I won’t strand you guys in the swamp today.” Theo pushed past his bodyguards, heading out into the swamp.

“Today?” Sarisa asked, turning to her brother with a look of concern. “What about tomorrow? Or the day after that?”

“We’ll play it one day at a time. You have your club, don’t you?” Rowan asked.

Theo turned to see Sarisa brandishing a club. Salire looked on in horror. The alchemist was almost certain they would do it. He pulled a Potion of Limited Foresight from his inventory, tipping it back before the others could notice. One could never be too careful.

“Are we targeting Spiny Swamp Thistle Root?” Salire asked, catching up to Theo. She looked back at the siblings, narrowing her eyes. She lowered her voice. “Keep an eye on those two.”

“Spiny Swamp Thistle Root would be best. We used up the epic-plus essence we had back in the shop, but we really only need enough for experimentation.”

“What do you think? Ten units?” Salire asked.

Theo clicked his tongue, running his fingers through his hair. “At least ten. I’d like a live sample, too. Ah, did you figure out anything about evolving buildings?”

“Not really. The locals have stories they’ve heard from traders who heard something from some elf’s cousin. Nothing solid.”

Theo laughed, patting Salire on the back. “Locals? You’re a local.”

“I don’t think so. Broken Tuskers are a different breed. Which means they’re weird.”

“While that’s fair, I consider you a local.”

Instead of taking the portal to Xol’sa’s tower, the party made their way through all of the swamp. When Theo had first come to Broken Tusk, the swamp was much more dangerous. There were still Ogre Snappers that spawned near the dungeon, but they were far fewer compared to then. That increased traffic that drove away the monsters was also bad for the reagents. The Moss Nettle seemed picked clean, while the Spiny Swamp Thistle had been trampled. Theo wasn’t happy to see this, but he was unsurprised. This diversion resulted in a long trip to the western side of the swamp. Most of the day had faded by the time they caught sight of the mountains.

“We’ll circle around to the north.” Theo gestured, tracing his finger along the shape of the hilly region ahead. “Same deal as last time. Keep your eye out for Swamp Thistle.”

“Keep an eye on him,” Sarisa said, whispering to Rowan a bit too loudly. “You know how he gets.”

Proximity to the dungeon had something to do with the rate reagents grew within the swamp. Those slopes to the west and northwest of the dungeon were a good area to hunt for those reagents. Salire’s eye for reagents was getting better by the day. She spotted the first decent Spiny Swamp Thistle Root growing in a soft patch of earth between two rocks. Other soft grasses grew in this area, but it was mostly barren. Only the sections of the landscape closer to the hills, and far away from the muddy swamp bore more reagents.

The group combed the area until the sun threatened to set on their adventure. Sarisa and Rowan had enough fun running around and killing monsters where they found them. There was something interesting to be observed from the growing strength of the Swamp Dungeon. Theo wished it would have more of an effect on the reagents. An alchemist could dream, anyway.

Theo kept his promise, and walked with the party to Xol’sa’s tower. He had already shut the portal down for the day, but was happy enough to open it for them once again. After stepping through, the alchemist sprinkled Cleansing Scrub on everyone, washing away caked layers of mud and leaving behind a pleasant scent.

“He held to his word,” Sarisa said, cupping her chin. “Interesting.”

“He’s just luring you into a false sense of security. Don’t let your guard down, sister.” Rowan glared at Theo, jabbing an accusatory finger. “We’re watching you, buddy.”

“You guys wanna get takeout tonight? Get some mead from Xam’s and just pig out?”

“Uh, yeah?” Salire said, scoffing.

Theo didn’t mean her, but he was happy to have more guests. “Let’s go. My treat.”