Theo often wondered how he ran the town without support. He stood with Alise as the sun set over Broken Tusk, looking from the eastern wall. The bridge was done, a surprise to everyone, and they were planning for the harbor. She drew lines with her fingers, detailing how hard it was going to be to dig out so much bare earth, then fill in a portion of it with stonework. She talked him out of doing such a deep harbor, favoring only the depth he needed for boats not to run aground.

Tresk had returned from her daily adventures. She was riding the [Lesser Stone Golem], which apparently listened to her will.

“Throk already has something we can use to remove excess water,” Alise said. “You’ll have to work closely with everyone to make this work, and I have my doubts.”

Theo waved her away. It was the first enormous project of this nature Broken Tusk had attempted, and there were going to be mistakes. It wasn’t worth worrying about what could go wrong. They’d just deal with it when it happened. The biggest problem with the harbor was the 2 opposing forces. The river will fill the hole he made, and the ocean might flow back to do the same. If this world had drastic tides, that would add to the problems. Still, the alchemist couldn’t help but feel excitement.

“It’s going to work one way or the other,” Theo said. “If the ocean fills in our hole, we’ll load everyone with potions so they can breathe underwater. If everything collapses, we can send for an [Earth Mage]. We’ll make it work.”

“We should have sent for an [Earth Mage] to start with,” one of Alise’s new administrators said.

“Got the coin for that?” Theo asked, leaning in and smiling. “I don’t either. So we use potions and good old Broken Tusk muscle to solve the problem.”

The group debated the ideas for some time, coming up with backup plans for their backup plans. Theo saw it as a healthy discussion. He didn’t want to stifle his administrative staff’s creativity, but he also didn’t want them to hinder the project. When bureaucrats impeded progress, that’s when he’d put his foot down. The harbor was happening, starting tomorrow, and they’d just have to figure out a way to help or move out of the way.

Theo bound his [Lesser Stone Golem] to the lodestone, giving his creation the same instructions as the mud men. There was enough [Mana Constructs] to keep them running for a few days, assuming they didn’t degrade with use.

Xam was getting artful with her food creations. She served layers of bread, egg, meat, and savory sauce in a Pozwa egg. The eggs were roughly the size of Theo’s head, and the shells were thicker than the width of his little finger. When everyone was done eating the delicious meal, he took their shells into his inventory. It seemed wasteful to throw away good alchemy ingredients.

Zarali didn’t join Tresk and Theo to the bathhouse today. They went alone and enjoyed the silence it brought. The pair of them soaked in the hot water without sharing words. They shared something else entirely. Through the Tara’hek, they shared thoughts and concepts that transcended words. Without speaking a word of it to each other, they pushed the bounds of the core. Theo got the sense that Tresk had been in a dungeon today, and that she was having a lot of fun. It was hard for him to get much more than that, but he shared his experiences for the day with her.

“You brewed potions?” Tresk asked, mocking him. “What a shocker!”

Theo summoned motes of Drogramathi mana and did his best to chase her around the bath with them. She didn’t explain why, but she was afraid of those floating wisps. His control of mana was getting better, but it was slow. It was nothing like earning experience to level his cores, he actually had to do the work. But that was a warning he got recently. Level 30 was the cutoff. After that, things would be harder. That was the reason there was a vast gap between people at level 30 and anything higher. You either learned how to control yourself, or you died.

It was comforting, even if the alchemist didn’t know why. He was eager to improve himself and his town, and this was a great way to pass the time. Chasing Tresk around with purple fire became less fun when she used her core’s abilities, easily dodging the flames. Still, silly games like this were a great way to improve his control and gain experience for his [Tara’hek Core] at the same time.

When they retired to the Newt and Demon, well before they were kicked out tonight, they fell into the Dreamwalk. Tresk wanted to give Theo a tour of the inside of some dungeons, and he was eager to see it.

“This floor is interesting,” Tresk said, gesturing to the surrounding scene.

According to the Marshling, it was the first floor of the [Swamp Dungeon], as she remembered it from long ago. This was before the dungeon started growing, but it was still fascinating. The entrance of the dungeon stood behind them, a swirling mass of black and green energy. The dungeon itself was segmented into rooms, the first of which looked like a swampy cave. Plants hung from the walls, debris from an abandoned cart was stuck in some mud, but there was no sign of monsters.

“When I was trying to start off, this room was hard,” Tresk said. She waved her hands, and a group of Goblins and Ogre Snappers appeared. “Can you imagine? Five level 5 Goblins almost killed me when I first got my [Rogue’s Core].”

“Five Goblins is a lot,” Theo said. “How do the monsters regenerate?”

“Depends,” Tresk said, shrugging. “The [Swamp Dungeon] can fracture itself into multiple instances that bind to your soul. So more than one person can run it at the same time. The other dungeons aren’t strong enough for that, yet. So everyone just piles in those.”

“That makes it more dangerous,” Theo said.

“Yeah. I like danger,” Tresk said. “Let’s go!”

The scene shifted. They were standing in a large, circular cave. Around the room were pools of marshy water, plants and bone sticking from under the water. Braziers hung from the ceiling, supported by clattering chains. Tresk waved her hand again, and a two-headed Troll appeared on the far side of the room. He’d seen them before during monster waves.

“10th level boss,” Tresk said, blowing raspberries. “He’s easy. I just sneak past all the floors and kill him so I can go down. Sometimes he rotates out for a one-headed version.”

The scene shifted again. They were in a similar room, this time with more water covering the ground. Tresk summoned the next boss, who also didn’t attack. This was a team of bosses. A wolf-riding Goblin, a Troll, and an Ogre Snapper. Theo assumed this was the level 20 boss room.

“Yep. Level 20,” Tresk said, picking up on his thoughts. “They’re kinda hard. Nothing compared to level 30.”

Tresk swiped her hands, and they descended the dungeon. The next room was massive, at least twice the size of the previous rooms. There was no more land, just the stretch of swamp. The fires seemed to burn brighter in this room. When the Marshling produced the next boss, Theo could see why the room was so large. The Ogre Snapper that appeared was massive. Its shell almost touched the ceiling of the room. Every piece of the monster’s body was covered in a thick, bony plate, as though it had a shell on every limb.

“Big old turtle,” Tresk said, running over and slapping the turtle’s leg. She barely came up to its knees. “I couldn’t beat him without the poisons.”

Theo studied the snapper for a moment, nodding. That made sense, but the thing must have been slow. A few good [Freezebombs] would lock it in place, then her poisons would do their work. This might have been a suitable candidate for the [Dessicate] modified [Poison]. But that was academic. Tresk had her own way of fighting, and he wouldn’t question it.

“Each level the dungeon gets, it gains a new floor, right?” Theo asked. He’d never been much to entertain dungeon theory. But knowledge was always useful.

“Correct, my student,” Tresk said, bowing. “Then every 10th floor, they get a boss. I don’t think we’re actually descending to lower levels. This place would just be all water. This is another dimension, or something.”

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“And Xol’sa’s new wards are working?” Theo asked.

“Yeah, we haven’t had a new level to this bad boy in forever,” Tresk said, letting out a wistful sigh. “On the bright side, the other dungeons finally have bosses.”

Theo nodded. “Show me Rivers and Daub again.”

Tresk shrugged, shifting the scene with a thought. They were standing in Rivers and Daub as it was at least a decade ago. Theo turned north, something he could only do by tracing the path of the river. He spotted the mountains far in the distance, and could even see the cut where Gronro-Dir must have been. Broken Tusk didn’t have line of sight on Rivers, but that was a feature of the rising landscape. The only reason he could see where Gronro rested was because of the scale of those mountains.

“Gigantic mountains,” Theo said, whistling.

“Yeah, something about that Elf god,” Tresk said, waving it off. “There’s a song about it, but I can’t remember the words.”

Theo was just impressed that her memory of Rivers and Daub was good enough to produce this strong of a picture. The event must have stuck with her, but he wouldn’t pry. He could sense it was attached with other feelings. Loss, mourning, and other feelings she didn’t want to face.

“We need fresh memories for the Dreamwalk,” Theo said. “How quick can you get from Broken Tusk to Rivers?”

“Real quick,” Tresk said, pulling her daggers out and stabbing at the air. “Like that quick.”

“Seriously,” Theo said, leveling his gaze at her.

“Less than a day,” Tresk said. “As long as there’s some shaded trees.”

“How about Gronro-Dir?” Theo asked.

“Well, so here’s the problem,” Tresk said, folding her arms. “[Shadowdance] allows me to jump from shadow to shadow, but I need to see it. I can jump from here to those mountains if I can spot a shadow. But then I’m on a freezing cold mountain.”

“So, longer,” Theo said, nodding.

“Yeah, longer,” Tresk said. “You want me to jump to Rivers to scout? Good idea. Gronro might be a problem, but I’ll check it out tomorrow.”

“I have faith in your abilities,” Theo said.

“Have faith in this!” Tresk shouted, summoning 10 Troll bosses. They attacked Theo immediately. “Surprise!”

Theo held his own against the Trolls for a while, but they were too overwhelming. Even with his retreat tactic, he wasn’t able to get all of them in one go. After Tresk dismissed them, declaring him dead, she went off to train on her own. The alchemist saw this as a win, since he could conduct his experiments without her conjuring any more assassins, Trolls, or Dragons to ruin his night.

In the Dreamwalk, experimentation was more valuable than training for Theo. He worked a small patch of ground, growing various reagents to get his [Drogramath Herbalism Core] up, but it wasn’t his focus. Understanding constructs just felt important. He started by unraveling the lodestones. He could imagine the one that Zarali built and test it without fear of breaking it. True to her word, and the name of the item, it was an anchor for his will. It still required his mind to work, but it acted like a coprocessor, reducing the strain on his mind.

Next on his list was the usefulness of the [Power Core]. Since he’d seen one, he could reproduce it. While it gave the golems an incredibly long operating time, it wasn’t worth the trouble. [Manashrooms] were easy enough to grow. His constructs could swap out their own batteries and keep on functioning. Having operational helpers was more important than having perfect helpers, especially if he could make a large quantity of them.

He spent the rest of the Dreamwalk running simulations on the harbor project. This talk would be impossible without magical help. There was just too much dirt running from the bridge to the ocean, and Theo was seeing the wisdom of Alise’s new plan. The potions would run out before he got halfway to the ocean if he dug it as deeply as he wanted. The ocean often rushed in when he tested, following the path left by the river. If Throk said he had a solution, he wouldn’t fight it.

Theo got a smattering of experience when he woke up the next morning. The [Tara’hek Core] rolled over to level 18, but got no bonuses. Where his other cores struggled to gain experience at this level, the Tara’hek didn’t care. As long as Tresk and Theo were doing things together, they got experience. They made their way to get breakfast after checking on the constructs. Alise directed them to the town hall, forcing them to bring their breakfast along for the ride.

Alise wanted to hold a meeting to make sure everyone knew what they were doing for the harbor project. She still thought it wouldn’t work, or they’d run into something they couldn’t solve, but she pushed forward. The harbor was alluring beyond reason. If they wanted to get noticed by foreign nations, this was the best way to do it.

Ziz and Throk were heading up the construction-side of things, sharing the responsibility for removing the water as it was a problem. Alise would measure, plan, and correct as they worked. She designated half of the day for the task, repeating until it was done. That gave everyone enough time to handle their other tasks while still getting the job done. After the artificial harbor was done, Theo would plant the seed core and they would all shove as many monster cores in as it would take.

Throk showed off his water-sucking device. He called it that, anyway. It was a simple pump, but it might not have been enough. Theo changed his mind after the artificer produced 15 more identical pumps.

“We don’t want to expand the city until the harbor is done,” Alise said, snapping her fingers to get everyone’s waning attention. “So, Tresk is on defensive duty. She’s rounded up a few adventurers to help us out. Anyone with an inventory is on notice for stone-hauling duty. Ziz and his boys can effectively weld them together with their new skills. Got it?”

Everyone mumbled their approval and the group broke. Theo finished his meal long ago, disappointed there wasn’t another shell for him to pilfer. He had enough [Tunneling Potions] to get the job going today, but he’d need to brew more for tomorrow. Alise clapped her hands as she led everyone to the work site, trying to keep the workers focused. She drew people from every profession, and those who hadn’t found jobs in the town. Even with taxes looming, she had a decent buffer to get them paid for their work, although most offered to work for free.

The first stage of the harbor was the easiest, if not the most tense. Alise placed sticks in the ground, one on the close side of the river and the other on the far side. She mimed drawing a line, then gestured to Theo. It was his turn to etch the vague shape of the harbor out. Looking down at the distant glint of the ocean to the south made him realize how daunting the task was. He dumped the first potion and cut a line between either side of the riverbank. A single potion was enough to make a line Theo’s height wide and as deep as Alise needed it. She told him to stop when it was at the right depth.

The group watched as the water rushed to fill the hole, the edges of the shape crumbling in to join the slurry.

“That was expected,” Throk said, grunting. “Just wait for it to get bigger.”

No one acted. All eyes turned to Theo and he repeated the process under Alise’s guidance. She had a good plan, and he didn’t want to mess it up. Several potions later, they had a square pit that filled less rapidly with water. Tresk passed out [Lesser Potions of Wake]. She’d been hoarding them to run the [River Dungeon], which sat upstream from where they were. Throk got to work.

Before long, a chorus of artifices running filled the air. They pumped the water at a wild speed, sending water in every direction as though shot from a firehose. When they ran out of water to pump, they simply shut down. The artificer was a genius with automated responses from the machines, something Theo appreciated on his timed flame artifices.

Ziz’s team descended into the wet pit, going to work with abandon. They framed the massive walls in minutes, setting wooden scaffolding out with trained precision. This reminded Theo more of the work they did at the quarry. This was their element. He turned his attention, focusing on burning through as many potions as he could. As long as the artifices could keep up and the ocean didn’t rush in, they were fine.

The distance they covered in a single half-day of work was equal to half the width of Broken Tusk. Ziz’s group wasn’t done setting walls and floors for the muddy put, but they were working at a steady pace. Theo watched as the Half-Ogre placed a brick against the mud wall, held his hand over it, and fused the two marble stones together. It gave the appearance of perfectly hewn stones mortared to perfection.

“This is lavished,” Tresk said, snorting a laugh. “Marble for a harbor. How fancy.”

When the midday sun came and went, Theo inspected the work. Alise was calling for them to stop working for the day, but everyone seemed fervent about completing the assignment. Even if they were paid by the day. The head of the harbor was thicker than the passage that led out to sea. They needed a lot of space for people to moor their boats near the harbor seed core building, but the passage only had to allow a few boats at a time. During the early stages of dumping his potions, Theo had widened it beyond what Alise requested, gaining a firm scolding. But it was better for the long run.

Theo clapped his hands to gain everyone’s attention when they stopped working. The crowd was milling around, edging toward the town’s wall to get back to their lives.

“Food is on me while you’re working,” Theo said, gaining a ripple of cheers. “Lifetime discount at the Newt and Demon for anyone who finds buried treasure. I keep the treasure, you get 10 percent off.”

That got enough laughs to put a smile on Theo’s face. He gave his thanks to everyone who filtered back toward the town. Ziz and his laborers were stubborn, refusing to leave until they finished the current section of the seawall. Throk was discussing something with them. Some need to brace the wall near the length of the approach. They were planning on using massive metal arches, tall enough to allow ships underneath. Theo offered to pay, since it sounded like a talking point for the town.

Tresk lingered with Theo, helping the stoneworkers where they could. It took most of the afternoon, but it was worth it. They were an eighth of the way toward the ocean and one step closer to their protected harbor.