Aarok delayed the cleanup of the monsters to the next day. With everything cleared from the street, there was only the matter of creating burn pits, looting the monsters, and dumping them in to be set on fire. Theo spent longer than he would have enjoyed entertaining Fenian at the Marsh Wolf Tavern. The strange, hooded wizard stood in the room's corner, simply observing. The alchemist couldn’t get a read on him, but reserved himself to make introductions the next day.

When Tresk and Theo settled down for bed, they found a massive cache of experience points waiting for the Tara’hek core. Upon pressing their foreheads together, the core jumped to level 12. The alchemist slept well that night. Visions of their simple victory played through his mind as he drifted off. He wouldn’t take it for granted, only resolving to push himself harder. The promise he made to himself, to take it easy, lingered in his mind for only a moment before he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning seemed normal enough. Withdrawing the early warning crystal from his inventory, Theo discovered it was back to light green. He let out a sigh, sitting next to Tresk and taking their morning breakfast.

“I need to direct the adventurers today,” Theo said. “To a lesser extent, anyway. Those monsters must be full of alchemical goodies.”

“Maybe,” Tresk said with a shrug.

“I also have some seed core buildings to plant today,” Theo said. “And alchemy to do.”

“Well, you got that ranch core, but no animals,” Tresk said, gulping her tea down. “Do that one last.”

“Right. I still need an agreement with the miners,” Theo said.

“Well, they’re not native Broken Tuskers,” Tresk said, shrugging. “You shouldn’t give them as good of a deal as Ziz, or Perg.”

“I agree,” Theo said. “I need to make larger profits.”

“Still aching for independence?” Tresk asked.

“Yeah,” Theo said. “Even the stipends Qavell sends are tiny, compared to what we could make on our own.”

“So, what kind of split should the miners get?” Tresk asked.

Theo had a good idea for what he wanted to give his private ventures. When he established the quarry and the stonecutter’s workshop, it was more a fact that he could than something to make him money. Now he had interest in trade, and bolstering the coffers of the town. Despite the quarry running itself, he had regrets for the ninety-ten split, where the workers took the largest share of the revenue. They’d share their stone with him at lower than market cost, but that wasn’t the point.

“Ten percent of market value,” Theo said. “Since I own every stage of the production chain, I can snatch up whatever metal I need along the way.”

“You should also discount the metal to my dad,” Tresk said, smiling. “He’d like that.”

“Yeah, I bet he’s excited. He can have it at labor cost‌. 10 percent of market value,” Theo said. “Which is likely almost nothing. Whoever gets the smelter job gets the same offer, I think. They can split everything amongst themselves.”

“Sounds good to me,” Tresk said.

Theo had explained the extent of the contracts to Tresk already. He was already using his [Titles] skill to go through and label everyone with their appropriate position. Before, they just sat in an extensive list. But now that the [Automatic Books] skill had run once, he could see everyone’s income, profit, and taxes owed, including himself. He also played with the [Command Structure] skill, assigning Aarok as the town’s commander, and reserving the assignment of all other military posts for the Half-Ogre to take care of. Only Luras got the Captain of the Guard post.

Each new rung in the command’s ladder came with an automatic salary that Theo could assign. This extended to his private ventures within the town. There was a section in the town’s menu that split out the alchemist’s businesses, including the quarry. The system could automatically withdraw money from his inventory, and pay it out to those people daily. This extended to complex formulas based on percent shares, profit earned, or any combination of things. He put that off for now, focusing his mind on meeting the new wizard.

As if summoned by a thought, a gentle knock came from downstairs. Theo descended, finding the hooded man standing awkwardly at the door. When he opened it, the Elf shuffled his feet and made a formal introduction.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Mayor,” he said, affecting a deep bow.

“Theo is fine. Do you want some tea?”

“I would, thank you.”

By the time the pair made their way upstairs, Tresk was nowhere to be found. She must have slipped out while Theo was downstairs, using her stealth abilities to get out of a long conversation. The strange Elf, if he was an Elf at all, had even stranger skin. It seemed to change based on his environment. Upon entering the building, it shifted to a lighter violet hue, the seams of color still running blue. When he finally removed his hood, a shockingly white head of hair spilled out over his shoulders.

“What’s your name?” Theo asked, pouring the Elf a cup of tea.

“Xol’sa,” he said.

“And where do you hail from?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “That is an endless story, but I’ll spare you the details. I don’t know the name of my people. We are a race of extra-planar Elves, and I’ve never known them.”

“Fair enough,” Theo said. “I assume your planar magic lets you know I’m not from here.”

“It does,” Xol’sa said.

“And you want to make a tower in the swamp,” Theo said.

“I do.”

“So, I don’t have a problem with it. But there are some rules. No messing with the dungeon, no summoning monsters or whatever, and no experiments that would harm my citizens.”

“That’s agreeable,” Xol’sa said.

The man had few words to say, which Theo didn’t know what to think of. He leaned in, flashing a smile. “So, what do you hope to accomplish out here?”

“To study the dense magic,” Xol’sa said. “Perhaps learn something about my people. And… Your dungeon—there’s something strange about it.”

“So I’ve heard,” Theo said, leaning back again.

“More than what you know,” Xol’sa said, averting his gaze. “It feels tampered with.”

Xol’sa turned and cocked his head toward Theo. “Magic has a smell. I view it as a smell. You stink of planar magic, but not just one sort. There’s another resting somewhere near you. Perhaps… Perhaps in your inventory.”

Theo instinctively withdrew the early warning device from his inventory, holding it out. If Xol’sa found this shocking, it didn’t reach his face. The Elf was wrapped up so tight, the alchemist doubted anything would bring emotion to his face. He pressed his fingers against the thing and nodded.

“That’s it,” Xol’sa said. “The magic is too powerful for me to determine its function, but it smells wrong.”

“Well. Then, let’s extend your responsibilities,” Theo said. “You can have your tower, but I want your opinion on the dungeon. I also want to be able to come to you with any questions I have.”

“A court wizard, then,” Xol’sa said, the hint of a smile cracking across his face. “I would enjoy that.”

Theo had a read on the Elf by now. He was a lost soul without a home, something extremely familiar. The people in this world wouldn’t judge someone by their race, but something like an extra-dimensional Elf might set off alarms. He also thought about the hierarchy of wizards, and how things seemed so rigid. Unless someone had power, they rarely found themselves in positions that demanded it. Xol’sa was a man without a home, a wizard without a cult.

“Allow me to draw up a contract,” Theo said, summoning his menu.

“A governance core,” Xol’sa said, an genuine smile spreading across his face as the menu popped up.

[Broken Tusk’s Wizard]

Contract

Theo Spencer (Belgar) and Xol’sa agree to a mutual relationship wherein Xol’sa will serve Broken Tusk as its mage. Theo Spencer (Belgar) agreed to give Xol’sa all available resources (within reason) to accomplish his research tasks. Xol’sa agrees to never conduct experimentation, spell craft, artificing, or any other manner of magical experimentation to harm the people of Broken Tusk. Xol’sa will be given a plot of land outside of the incorporated area of Broken Tusk to establish his tower, far enough from both the town and the [Swamp Dungeon] to avoid damaging either.

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

Terms:

Xol’sa shall become the sole mage for Broken Tusk, obtaining the title of ‘Town Mage’

Theo Spencer (Belgar) will provide a section of land for Xol’sa to establish his tower

Xol’sa will never harm the people of Broken Tusk, or her interests

Both parties agree to act in the best interest of Broken Tusk

Timeline:

Renewed every year

“These terms are more than agreeable,” Xol’sa said, accepting the menu without amending it.

[Xol’sa] has agreed to the terms of your contract.

Theo went into his map screen, finding a section of land near the dungeon. He marked a wide swath for Xol’sa to pick from, somewhere that was far enough from both the dungeon and town to avoid collateral.

“I’ve marked out a section of the swamp for you, somewhere with a bit of dry land,” Theo said. “Perhaps we can get a road out there for you.”

“No need,” Xol’sa said, waving a dismissive hand. “I can establish a semi-stable portal between the town and my tower.”

“Semi-stable… Sounds dangerous,” Theo said.

“It would be up to the user to determine the dangers,” Xol’sa said.

The entire exchange seemed agreeable. Theo didn’t know what the extent of the strange Elf’s powers were, but his [Wisdom] seemed to sing the man’s praises. It wasn’t much of a logical leap, though. Xol’sa needed a home, and who wouldn’t want a wizard?

“Well, I have business to attend to,” Theo said, gesturing for the door.

Xol’sa finished his tea, setting down the cup and reaching a hand out to shake.

“I’d like you to tour the tower when it grows,” Xol’sa said. “Sometime tomorrow, I think.”

“I’d love to,” Theo said, shaking the Elf’s hand.

Xol’sa left the lab without another word, and Theo relayed the events to Tresk. She liked him, which was rare. She was spiky about outsiders at the best of times, and outright hostile at other times. If the Marshling approved of someone who wasn’t from the town, they’d make a good fit.

Before leaving the lab, the alchemist set about some simple tasks. With the three valves on the holding tanks opened, he set up a distillation run for the three restoration essences. With the large long-term storage tanks outside, he’d be able to run the stills on a timer and go about his business in the town. He completed the process quickly, thanks to his [Alchemical Grinders], and his fancy new timers.

Theo found his way to the assembling adventurers, his mind wandering back to his lab as he waited. There was a lot of experimentation to do, specifically with refining modifier essences. He wanted to run those essences through his pressure vessel, allowing him to apply the modifiers to his second tier potions. The process required testing, something he intended to get to today. Those modified potions would be worth a fortune, and the tier after that would be even more expensive.

“We’re ready to go,” Aarok said after a while.

The gates were raised and the adventurers assembled outside, waiting for Theo to inspect the dead monsters. The fields of dead were rotting, disgusting things. He held his nose as he went through the dead, finding a goblin and taking a moment for inspecting. His senses said that the beast had something alchemical in it, but he couldn’t be sure. With his knife in hand, he poked at the monster’s body. His mind twinged, urging him to check the mouth.

A simple cut later and Theo found his prize, although he wouldn’t care to repeat the process again.

[Goblin Tongue]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

Common

The tongue of a Goblin. It’s disgusting.

Properties:

[Insatiable Hunger] ???? ????

“For the goblins, go for the tongue,” Theo announced, placing the item in his inventory and grimacing. “As vile as that is.”

Theo’s senses said there was nothing else on the Goblin, although he had his doubts. It was like that the [Drogramath Alchemy Core] simply wasn’t high enough to detect more advanced reagents. He moved on to the equally ugly Trollings. This one was easy. The monster was covered in gore, something the alchemist’s senses yearned for. He removed an empty vial from his inventory and scooped some of the blood up, nodding to himself.

[Troll Blood]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

Rare

The blood of a troll. Known for its restorative properties, it is extremely volatile.

Properties:

[Searing Regeneration] ???? ????

“I’ll bring vials to collect the blood,” Theo said. “But, the Trolls will produce [Troll Blood]. Easy enough.”

Theo repeated the process for some time, moving among the dead with the adventurers to find more treasures. It was to no avail, though. The wolves held no reagents, and he couldn’t discover anything new from the fallen monsters. Satisfied with his attempt, he returned to the lab and produced an absurd number of vials, returning to the adventurers to pass them out. He let out a sigh of relief when he was done, his mind itching for more experimentation.

Both Luras and Aarok accompanied him through the gate, the guildmaster clearly having something on his mind.

“I got the notification that you set me as a commander,” Aarok said.

“And I’m the Captain of the Guard,” Luras said, laughing.

“I got my [Governance Core] yesterday,” Theo said, smiling.

They followed him as he trudged a path over the cobbles, eager to share in the excitement of the new core’s abilities.

“It gave me a few new abilities,” Aarok said. “I can make announcements to the town—they should get a system message.”

“We can also designate squads, and give them their own tactical maps,” Luras said, chuckling. “Theo, that core is worth it for those abilities alone.”

“It better be worth it,” Theo said. “It would have cost 50 gold if not for Fenian’s deal.”

“What deal?” Aarok said, stopping.

Theo refused to stop, simply moving along and reciting the story of Xol’sa the strange [Planar Mage]. The pair seemed reluctant to be excited for a mage in the town, but the alchemist soothed their concerns.

“I imagine most great towns have a wizard,” Theo said.

“Usually,” Aarok admitted.

“And I want Broken Tusk to be a powerful town,” Theo said. The reasoning was simple. The Half-Ogres had to let go of their preconceived notions of mages for progress to occur. “Meet the man before you judge him. I gave him permission for his tower, you can find him in the swamp.”

Aarok and Luras trailed Theo for a while, like children following their parents. The alchemist wanted to indulge their curiosity, but the monster wave took more out of his schedule than he would have liked. He made a mental list of the things he needed to do, which boiled down to 2 items. The farmer’s problem had only been solved for their current farming setup, but they needed to expand. This led him to thinking about the [Spiny Swamp Thistle] he planted at the edge of the gravel yard. They needed tending. Then, there was the problem of refined modifier essences, which only testing could solve.

Theo returned to his lab, finding Azrug and Fenian talking excitedly in the shop. He pushed past them without a word, heading to clean out his fermentation barrels. The alchemist got into the habit of annotating Basic Drogramath Alchemy in the old Drogramathi script, to add the things that were missing. The section on refining modifiers was almost entirely missing, only having a few footnotes that wouldn’t serve him. There was also a lack of emphasis on the quality of essences produced, which would require further experimentation. He had a suspicion it had to do with which catalysts were used during the refining process for the pressure vessel, and the motes with the fermentation barrels.

The fires beneath the stills still burned strong, the sound of the bubbling mash filling the lab. Theo threw open the window and took a deep breath. Before moving forward with his experimentation, he needed to set a baseline. Until now, he was operating under the assumption that second tier potions couldn’t be mixed with first tier modifiers. The alchemist took a vial of [Surge] modifier essence, and a [Healing Potion] in hand, marching out to the gravel yard. He passed by his massive holding tanks and grinned, they were currently filling up with valuable essence. He flushed the system of his pressure vessel, bottling the small amount of [Refined Fire Essence] from before the siege. There simply wasn’t enough time to check it out, before then.

[Refined Fire Essence]

[Essence] [Refined Essence]

Uncommon

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

Purity: 45%

50 units (liquid)

Concentrated, refined essence of fire, used in the creation of fire bombs.

The quality was lacking, as expected. Theo mentally shrugged it off, moving to the center of the gravel yard and placing the [Healing Potion] down. He crouched near it, angling his body so he could sprint away the moment he introduced the modifier. The moment the modifier essence fell into the healing potion, it boiled. The alchemist ran, tripping over his own feet and holding his hands over his head. His experiment issued a minor explosion, not even shattering the glass vial. But, it confirmed his suspicions about the compatibility of the potions with their lower tier counterparts.

Theo had a small amount of [Surge] modifier left, somewhere around 50 units. He placed it in his pressure vessel and set it to work, inserting [Copper Shavings] for the catalyst. While he had new catalysts from Fenian, it wasn’t the time to stretch his experimentation. Good alchemy was done one step at a time, recording everything and retesting for accuracy. This wasn’t an issue with the first tier potions, but things were getting more dangerous.

Instead of returning to the lab, Theo made his way to the small garden of [Spiny Swamp Thistle]. All but 1 had died since he checked last, withering away in the suboptimal conditions. The one that remained had grown larger, but underwent no additional changes. The alchemist rolled the problem over in his mind. His use of the [Lesser Potion of Growth] monsterized the plant, but that potion had to be the key. He inspected the growth potion once again, observing several things.

[Lesser Potion of Growth]

[Potion]

Uncommon

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Drink to grow 1.25 your current size. May age the imbiber of the potion by an unknown quantity of time.

Effect:

Affect the [Growth] property on any living thing.

It was a standard, drinkable potion. Usually, he would rely on potions that he considered detergents to apply effects to the world around him. He had several examples in recent memory, including the [Alchemic Soil Enhancer]. His [Drogramath Alchemy Core], on the verge of hitting level 12, whispered into his heart. Theo was missing something. There was an element of the potion that wasn’t there, and adding that element would remedy the problem.

“What could it be, ol’ Droggie?” Theo asked of the empty air.

That innate knowledge sitting in his chest urged him to a solution. There was something that could stabilize the potion, converting it into a world-effect detergent. The next logical leap was easy. It felt like getting the answers to a test just by looking at the question, the combination of his [Drogramath Alchemy Core], [Drogramath Herbalism Core], and his [Wisdom] coming together to produce one simple answer. There was a modifier that would convert the potion, allowing him to apply the growth potion to the plants.

“Time to ferment,” Theo said, nodding to himself.